Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
UNLV
UNLV shoots down Rams
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2009
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Marcus Walker scored 12 straight points for Colorado State during a 12-3 Rams' run midway through the second half, but Walker's heroics were not enough to overcome a 22-point second half deficit as UNLV posted an 89-70 win over Colorado State in front of 13,529 fans on Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Walker, who scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, was joined in double figures by Andy Ogide (12 points and six rebounds), Andre McFarland (11) and Harvey Perry (10). UNLV was led by Tre'Von Willis who posted 21 points on 8-12 shooting and was joined by five other Rebels in double figures.
UNLV (19-6, 7-4 MWC) built their big lead thanks to eight three-pointers in the first half, including six straight during a six-minute stretch of the opening period, as the Runnin' Rebels led from start to finish.
"Marcus can do what he did tonight," said Head Coach Tim Miles. "Marcus is great in open space and he got some of that tonight and brought us back a little bit."
The Rebels scored 27 of the final 40 points in the first half and shot 65 percent from the field to take a 51-34 lead at halftime. UNLV connected on 11 three-pointers in the game and shot 54 percent from the field.
The Rebels built a 22-point lead with 13 minutes left in the game before CSU guard Marcus Walker scored 12 straight points for the Rams to bring CSU (8-17, 3-8 MWC) within 12 points (72-60). The 12-point deficit was the closest the Rams would get as UNLV would lead by at least a dozen points the rest of the way.
"I don't like losing like this, but I thought we had fighting effort at the end," said Miles. "We had the right guys in at the end of the game and they played hard and as a coaching staff that is all we can ask for."
McFarland, playing in front of nearly 20 family and friends in his hometown, tallied his most points (11) since he posted 14 against Nevada on Dec. 2. Perry, another Las Vegas native, added five rebounds to go along with his 10 points for CSU.
After knocking off UNLV exactly one month ago (71-69 on Jan. 14 in Fort Collins), CSU was looking to sweep UNLV for the first time since the 2000-01 season. CSU played well early on and trailed by just three points (24-21) with 9:39 remaining in the first half, despite UNLV hitting eight of its first 11 shots from the field. A 6-0 UNLV run, both on three-point field goals, got things started for the Runnin' Rebels. Back-to-back baskets by Walker kept CSU within striking distance (32-25) before UNLV scored 10 of the next 15 points to take control.
The Rams will try to get back on track when they return home to face the Mountain West leading Utah Utes (18-7, 9-2 MWC) on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST at Moby Arena where Colorado State has won three of its last four games.
