Pure magic: Marvin Coleman comes up clutch in win over Fresno State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 | 8:15 p.m.

For 39 minutes and 59 seconds on Saturday, Marvin Coleman made nary an impact on UNLV's game against Fresno State. But the final second was pure magic.

Coleman, the former walk-on who has sparked UNLV this season with his heart and hustle, banked in a fadeaway jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to give the Rebels a much-needed 68-67 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.

It was Coleman's first made basket of the game, and it came just in time. Trailing by one point, the Rebels got a defensive stop on the previous possession and instead of calling a timeout (UNLV had two remaining and got the ball back with 13 seconds on the clock), coach T.J. Otzelberger allowed his players to push the ball upcourt and run the offense. Forward Donnie Tillman was stymied on a drive from the corner, and the ball was passed back to Coleman at the top of the key.

With the clock running down, Coleman drove left; cut off by a defender, the sophomore faded from 15 feet and banked in the go-ahead bucket.

After a series of timeouts, Fresno State's final play ended with a missed halfcourt heave as UNLV claimed its first victory since a Jan. 18 win over New Mexico.

Coleman said he reveled not in being the hero, but in celebrating with his teammates.

"It was amazing, honestly," Coleman said. "And then all my teammates running up to me, that's the best part. Getting love from my teammates, that's what makes me happy."

UNLV had dropped its previous four games, a losing streak that took some of the shine off the Rebels' 6-1 start to conference play. Coleman's shot improved the team to 7-5 in the MWC and 12-13 overall.

It wasn't the first time Coleman has come through in the clutch this season. He hit a big 3-pointer late in the first meeting against Fresno State to help force overtime in a game UNLV eventually won, and he did it again with a 3 to help get the Rebels to OT against Wyoming on Jan. 11. In the Wyoming game, Coleman went on to score nine of UNLV's 15 points in overtime to secure that win.

As far as Otzelberger is concerned, Coleman has proven himself to be a winner.

"He's a gutty player," Otzelberger said. "He's a winner in every sense of the word. He's a young man that comes in every day and plays with so much passion for this university and his teammates. He's a guy I trust. It shows that he's made big plays and big shots for us in key moments, and we'll continue to call upon him in those moments in the future."

UNLV fell behind by double digits in the opening minutes against Fresno State, but a 13-0 run before halftime helped get the Rebels back into the game. Amauri Hardy and Bryce Hamilton each scored 13 points in the second half as the two teams traded the lead back and forth in the closing minutes.

Noah Blackwell hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds to play to give Fresno State a 67-64 advantage. Hardy made a driving scoop shot to cut it to 67-66 with 40 seconds left, and the defense held on the ensuing possession, forcing a miss from FSU guard New Williams. Mbacke Diong got the rebound and the ball eventually made its way to Coleman for the dramatic game-winner.

Hardy finished with 18 points, while Hamilton tallied 17.

The Rebels will try to maintain their momentum through to Wednesday's home game against UNR. After that, there are just five games remaining in the regular season.

Hardy seemed confident that Saturday's dramatic win could get UNLV pointed in the right direction again as the team heads into the stretch run.

"We definitely needed this game just to get us back on track," Hardy said. "You always want to get hot at the right time and reel off a couple games, and the next thing you know it's March Madness. That's how it goes. It helps our morale, definitely, to break the losing streak and win again at the house. We've got Reno coming in and we're going to go in hard."

Coleman finished with four points on 1-of-4 shooting, but as usual, his impact went far beyond the stat sheet.

After the game, Coleman said he made some game-winning shots in high school, but none that compared to this.

"It never felt like that," Coleman said. "Playing for my hometown, at the Thomas & Mack, at home, hearing the crowd, with my teammates. It never felt that good."

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.