Rebels rally to defeat New Mexico 80-67

The Rebels paid tribute to their seniors with a rousing victory Saturday afternoon, but it was more of a beginning than an end.

By soundly thrashing New Mexico 80-67 before 12,223 at the Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV finished its season-long comeback in the Mountain West Conference by breaking a three-way tie for first place to gain the No. 1 seed for next week's MWC tournament here.

Having lost their conference opener to Brigham Young on Jan. 10, the Rebels never occupied the lead until Thursday. But by turning back the Lobos, they finished 10-4 to claim a share of the regular-season championship. Utah gained half of the crown Saturday night by beating Air Force 86-63, but the Rebels' victory over New Mexico gave them the top seed via the tiebreaker.

UNLV (20-7 overall) will meet eighth-seeded San Diego State (0-14, 5-22) at 9 p.m. Thursday in its MWC tournament opener.

"I knew our guys were ready to play this morning. I could tell by the looks on their faces," coach Bill Bayno said. "We gave our best and our best was good enough. We're champions of the Mountain West, and we're not even playing our best ball.

"This is the way you're supposed to send out your seniors."

UNLV seniors Mark Dickel and Issiah Epps were honored before the game, and the Rebels put on a performance worthy of the send-off. They took the lead five minutes in and did not give it up, methodically expanding it as high as 78-58 with 3:49 to play.

Dickel played a solid, assertive game and compiled 12 points and 12 assists, the latter figure improving his NCAA-leading total. In five minutes, Epps had three rebounds and two blocks. The duo exited to a standing ovation with 47 seconds to go with the Rebels ahead 80-65.

"We were picked to finish third in our conference, but we won it," Dickel said. "I think we have to be given some respect for that."

Kaspars Kambala led the Rebels with 19 points, Dalron Johnson scored 15 and Trevor Diggs added 12. Diggs had a maddening 5-of-19 shooting day, but he again played good defense against Lobos star Lamont Long, the league scoring champion. Long scored 18 to lead New Mexico, but hit only 8-of-20 shots.

The Lobos entered as the hottest team in the MWC, having won eight of their last 10 games, and three straight on the road. But UNLV's perimeter defense was fantastic, poking away passes and preventing New Mexico from getting open shots. The Lobos made 10-of-30 shots in the first half when UNLV took a 44-32 halftime lead. The Rebels led by at least nine the rest of the way.

REBEL NOTES: Here is the schedule for Thursday's quarterfinals of the MWC tournament, with seedings in parentheses: New Mexico (3) vs. Brigham Young (6), noon; Utah (2) vs Air Force (7), 2:30 p.m.; Colorado State (4) vs. Wyoming (5), 6 p.m.; UNLV (1) vs. San Diego State (8), 9 p.m. ...

The Rebels' all-millenium team was announced after season-long voting. The top five were small forward Stacey Augmon, power forward Larry Johnson, center George Ackles, shooting guard Freddie Banks and point guard Greg Anthony. ...

Charles Barkley sat courtside and accomodated autograph requests all afternoon.

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