Jan 24, 2004

Final Stats

By ROBERT W. BLACK
Associated Press Writer

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Odartey Blankson scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and J.K. Edwards had 14 points and 10 boards to lead UNLV to a 76-62 win at Wyoming on Saturday, a contest in which the Rebels never trailed.

UNLV (10-5, 1-2 Mountain West) broke away from a 4-4 tie to lead 21-10 as Edwards scored 10 points in the first nine minutes on an array of short and long jumpers.

James Peters and Romel Beck added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Rebels.

Wyoming (8-9, 1-3) was led by Jay Straight's 14 points and 10 apiece from David Adams and Joe Ries.

UNLV built its biggest lead, 51-35, on a steal and dunk by Louis Amundson with 16:37 remaining.

The Cowboys went on a 12-2 roll to draw within 53-47 on a free throw by Alex Dunn with 9:21 left, but the Rebels jumped back up by 10 on a 3-pointer by Beck and foul shot by Blankson over the next 54 seconds.

Beck's layup with 6:19 remaining boosted the Rebels' lead to 62-50 and Wyoming never got closer than seven down the stretch.

Late in the first half, Adams drew Wyoming within 34-26 on a 3-pointer, but then the Cowboys turned the ball over three straight times and fell behind 40-26 on Blankson's high-arcing hook with 1:27 left.

UNLV outshot Wyoming 48 percent to 38 percent as the Cowboys sank only 2 of 18 3-pointers.

Wyoming big man Mory Correa went down with a sprained ankle with 3:50 left in the first half and finished with three points and five rebounds. UNLV won the rebound battle 42-33.