During the
past week, we have announced the Top 5 Favorite Runnin’ Rebel Memories from the
2009-10 season (as selected by a group of fans, players and coaches). More
detailed accounts of the Top 5 are available at CoachKruger.com.
Honorable Mentions
The
following memories/moments received votes from fans, players and/or coaches,
but did not finish in the top five.
- D.J. for Tre: Derrick Jasper’s huge
three-pointer and Tre’Von Willis’ 25 points lead No. 25 UNLV to a thrilling
74-72 double-overtime victory at Arizona
in December.
- Anthony Marshall’s Coming Out Party:
MWC Tournament win over Utah.
Marshall leads
the way with 13 points, 12 rebounds and a monster dunk to seal the crucial win.
- Five graduate: UNLV’s basketball
program has five players receive degrees in May 2010 – Derrick Jasper, Steve “Chop”
Jones, Darris Santee, Matt Shaw and Tre’Von Willis.
- Oscar’s Three: Northern
Iowa’s Ali
Farokhmanesh took the headlines with his late three-pointer in the NCAA
Tournament’s first round as UNLV fell, 69-66. But the shot with the
most pressure in the game came 30 seconds earlier from UNLV’s Oscar Bellfield –
a 3-pointer to tie the game at 66 and rally UNLV back from a nine-point deficit
with seven minutes to play.
- Ranked in November: With a 5-0 start and coming off a win against nationally-ranked Louisville,
UNLV is ranked in November for the first time since 1992.
- Packing the House: During a four
day-stretch in February against BYU and New Mexico,
UNLV draws back-to-back crowds of 18,000-plus at the Thomas & Mack Center
for the first time in nearly two decades.
- The First Run: Freshmen Justin Hawkins
and Anthony Marshall and senior walk-on Steve “Chop” Jones lead the way in
erasing an 11-point, second half deficit at home in a win over Nevada-Reno.
The Top 5
No. 1 – The BYU Blowout
Tre’Von
Willis’ 33 points leads UNLV to 88-74 win over No. 12 at a sold out T&M. The
Runnin’ Rebels lead at one time, 47-18.
No. 2 – Another Oscar-winning
Performance
Oscar
Bellfield delivers again against No. 16 Louisville in the closing minutes. UNLV
wins 76-71 and Derrick Jasper brings down the house with two highlight
alley-oop dunks.
No. 3 – Kendall
at The Pit
Kendall
Wallace catches fire from outside in the second half as UNLV stuns a sold out New Mexico crowd, 74-62.
The win stopped a 19-game home winning-streak for the Lobos.
No. 4 – Friday Night Frenzy
In front of
a sold out Thomas & Mack
Center crowd, UNLV tops
No. 14 BYU, 70-66, in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament
behind the clutch play of Tre’Von Willis, Chace Stanback and Brice Massamba.
The game is the second classic of the night as San
Diego State beats New Mexico in the first
semifinal.
No. 5 – Selection Sunday
It’s about
getting into the NCAA Tournament and UNLV does it once again (for the third
time in four years). It is a defining day for the league as four teams (UNLV,
BYU, New Mexico and San Diego State)
advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.