Feb. 19, 2000
By TIM KORTE
AP Sports Writer
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Mekili Wesley scored 22 points and Terrell Lyday had 17 as BYU beat UNLV 83-82 on Saturday night, denying the Rebels a chance to move into a first-place tie with Utah in the Mountain West Conference.
After rallying from a 67-58 deficit with 9:42 remaining, the Rebels (16-6, 7-3 MWC) got two shots in the closing seconds that would have won it. Trevor Diggs' 15-foot jumper was off the mark and a follow-up tip by Kaspars Kambala bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
BYU (16-7, 5-5) appeared to have the game wrapped up when Michael Vranes hit a 3-pointer with 49.5 seconds left, giving the Cougars an 80-72 lead and sending the Marriott Center crowd of 17,432 into a frenzy.
But Diggs scored with 15.5 seconds left, cutting the margin to 83-79. After Lyday missed two free throws, UNLV's Donovan Stewart completed a three-point play to make it 83-82 with 8.9 seconds left.
Wesley missed two free throws with 7.7 seconds on the clock, setting up UNLV for its final possession.
The Rebels failed to capitalize on a big assist from New Mexico, which earlier in the day beat Utah in Albuquerque. UNLV, trailing Utah by one game in the Mountain West standings, plays in Salt Lake City on Monday night.
Todd Christensen scored 15 points, Vranes had 12 and Eric Nielsen scored 11 for the Cougars.
Kambala led the Rebles with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Diggs scored 21 and Dalron Johnson had 14.
UNLV came into the game ranked fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 84.2 points a game. But the problem for the Rebels was establishing any kind of defensive consistency.
The Cougars, meanwhile, chased loose balls, crashed the boards for rebounds and outhustled the Rebels, who often forced shots from the perimeter instead of trying to work inside to the 6-foot-9 Kambala.
The Rebels often drifted away from defensive assignments, allowing Wesley to slash to the basket or work his way to the free-throw line. At the same time, Christensen fired away from 3-point range, hitting 3-of-4.
BYU did most of its damage at the free-throw line, hitting 13 straight foul shots in the second half. The Cougars went 6:33 without a field goal over one span but still scored seven points.
