UNLV-Wyoming: Rebels Get Roped in Laramie

The way to beat the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, whether it's on the road or at the Thomas and Mack, seems to be pretty simple. Hold the Rebels to under 20 percent from the three-point line and outrebound them by 15, and your team, even if it has 23 turnovers, is most likely going to walk away with a win.

That's exactly what happened tonight as the Wyoming Cowboys avenged an earlier loss to the Rebels at the Thomas and Mack in January and came away with a nine-point win, 77-68, on its home floor in front of 4,703 fans. I think I heard late in the game three fans yelling "REBELS" from the crowd. They were roped.

The Rebels held an early 2-0 lead, and that was the last time they had the lead for the remainder of the game. The only reason that the final score was as close as it was is because the Cowboys had real trouble holding on to and passing the ball.

Twenty-three turnovers in all usually would mean at least 25 to 30 points from the sure-handed Rebel team. Not tonight. UNLV scored a total of 10 points off those turnovers—one of the indicators that this was going to be a long night.

The Rebs shot 0-12 in the first half from the three-point line, and it certainly seemed like their record for a "three" in every single game since the three-point line came into the NCAA in 1986 could possibly be in jeopardy. However, they did make five in the second half, but the total of 5-26 (19.2 percent) certainly did them in.

The Cowboys' defensive effort needs to go noticed as well. They outrebounded the Runnin' (very slowly) Rebels 38-25, but clearly one man, senior Brandon Ewing, was the difference maker tonight. I heard Lon Kruger on the pregame radio show say that in order for his club to win, they would have to contain Ewing. They didn't.

Brandon was on fire for the 39 minutes he was on the floor. He led all scorers with 29 points, and no matter who Kruger put on him, Ewing simply blew them away with long range threes and penetrating drives into the lane.

The Rebels put three players in double figures tonight after placing six in the win Saturday at home against Colorado State. Wink Adams and Tre'Von Willis both had 18, and Rene Rougeau chipped in with 16. Normally if those three guys score 52 points, it would probably result in a Rebels win. Not tonight. The rest of the team shot 6-28 (21 percent) as the Rebels dropped to 19-7, and 7-5 in the Mountain West.

Simply stated, the Rebels will have to win out their remaining five games and get to the finals of the Tournament to get an NCAA bid. After tonight, that uphill battle just got that much more steep.