Third time's the charm ....For the Rebels.
The third seeded Rebels defeated the sixth seeded Utes 73-61 in the Quarterfinals of the MWC Tournament. After being swept by Utah (14-17, 7-9) in the regular season, UNLV (24-7, 11-5) won when it counted.
UNLV's pressure defense caused havoc for the Utes all night. Forcing 15 turnovers and holding the overmatched Utes to a dismal 32 percent shooting. The Rebels pulled away in the second half with a 18-3 run and never looked back.
Tre'von Willis and Anthony Marshall led the balanced effort for UNLV with 13 points each. MWC Defensive Player of the Year, David Foster, had the biggest impact for the Utes with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Carlon Brown also added 12 points.
UNLV's win breaks the streak of the six seed over three seed upset in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament. The Rebels approve the league's best conference tournament record to 18-5.
"We definitely wanted this game here," Tre'Von Willis said in the postgame press conference.
With the win UNLV will play the second seeded BYU Cougars at 8:30 p.m. PT Friday in the semifinals.