Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- It was an uphill battle all the way. And when you're running uphill, it's tough to cross the finish line first.
UNLV simply couldn't get to the tape ahead of an athletic, quick and determined Arkansas squad in Wednesday's National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal.
Sparked by a boisterous crowd of 13,168 at Bud Walton Arena, tenacious defensive pressure and a second-half flurry of 3-point field goals, the Razorbacks held off the Rebels 86-73 and advanced to the NIT Final Four Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
"I'm proud of our team and our fans for what has happened the last three games," said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. "Our fans helped get us to New York. They didn't sit there and wait for us to make something happen. They pushed us to make something happen."
Despite the rabid crowd, 24 turnovers, cold shooting from outside and the fact they had to travel 11 hours to get here Tuesday with virtually no time to prepare, the Rebels were never really out of it. Even when Arkansas had an 11-point lead with 10:48 to play, Bill Bayno's team continued to battle.
Ultimately, the Arkansas pressure prevailed and UNLV's season concluded at 22-10. It was the best showing since 1992, when Jerry Tarkanian's final team went 26-2.
"This team gave me everything it had," Bayno said as he leaned against the wall outside the UNLV locker room. "We didn't have a lot of time to prepare for their pressure and another day might've helped our legs. I thought we wore down some in the second half."
With the Thomas & Mack Center booked well in advance for a Disney On Ice show and no alternative site available, the NIT committee had no choice but to ship the Rebels to the Ozarks. Had the Mack or the MGM Grand Garden been open, Wednesday's game would have been in Las Vegas and might have been a different story.
But Arkansas got to play its third NIT game at Walton and the Hogs took full advantage. They broke open a close game with six straight 3-pointers during a 22-11 run, turning a 40-37 deficit into a 59-51 lead in just over four minutes.
UNLV contested most of the shots, but Pat Bradley, Tarik Wallace and Glendon Alexander were too hot to handle. Arkansas wound up shooting 39 percent from long distance, hitting 11 of 28 treys.
"Pat, Tarik and Glendon all had a hot hand tonight," said Arkansas guard Kareem Reid, who scored 13 points and dished out five assists. "I couldn't decide who to pass it to. They would all hit the shot."
Wallace, who had a career-high 20 points off the bench for the 18-12 Razorbacks, said: "It felt really good to get my shots and hit them. Kareem was doing a good job of finding the open man and I just happened to get some good looks."
Bradley, who had a game-high 23 points, said: "We all seemed to be hitting the big shots. I got some good, open looks and I was able to capitalize."
But it wasn't just long-distance gunning that ended UNLV's season. Arkansas got much of its offense off its defense, as the Hogs were right in the Rebels' faces.
Facing incredible defensive pressure from the opening tip and forced to play at a high-speed tempo, the Rebels constantly turned the ball over in the first half.
But the Rebels settled down and controlled the final seven minutes of the half, finishing strong with a 17-7 run to lead 33-31 at halftime.
Damian Smith gave UNLV a big lift off the bench with eight points and center Keon Clark battled inside against double- and triple-teaming. He had 10 of his 17 points at intermission.
Somehow, the Rebels survived despite 15 turnovers.
"It wasn't as much the pressure as it was the whole deal," said freshman guard Mark Dickel. "They force you to play at their tempo and it got us out of sync at times."
UNLV managed to stretch the halftime lead to six early in the second half behind Clark, Warren Rosegreen, and Tyrone Nesby. Rosegreen got a nice backdoor pass from Clark and converted a layup before Nesby hit a turnaround in the key to make it 37-31.
Clark did everything humanly possible to keep UNLV going. The 6-foot-11 junior had a matching double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds and blocked four shots to give him a school record 112 for the season.
But he needed help. And when Nesby, who would score 16 points, picked up three quick fouls less than 2 1/2 minutes into the half, Bayno had to sit him down. That's when the game turned around.
"Yeah, that was tough," Nesby said of being relegated to spectator status. "But I still thought we could come back."
And UNLV did, getting as close as six on four occasions. But whenever the Rebels threatened to inch closer, a turnover, missed free throw or a miss prevented them from doing so.
"They hit every open shot and that hurt us," said Rosegreen, who finished his two-year hitch with the Rebels by scoring 12 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
Clark, who has not made a final decision regarding his status for next year, couldn't fault the effort.
"We played as hard as we could," he said. "There was no fatigue factor. It was a 3-point factor. They made too many shots.
"I know we had a good season. I just wish we could've went a little further."
Hoop du jour
* FAREWELL, SENIORS: Wednesday was the final game for Sunshine Smith, Damian Smith, Warren Rosegreen, Tony Lane and Kevin James. The quintet combined for 38 points and 16 rebounds. Sunshine scored six points and finished his career as UNLV's No. 25 all-time scorer with 1,093 points. He was five shy of tying Anthony Jones for the No. 24 spot.
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