UNLV Hands Temple Its First Loss in ‘Miracle’ Finish, 59-58

LAS VEGAS — That Nevada Las Vegas, with its Runnin’ Rebel Vegas show complete with indoor fireworks, would win a game with the final score in the 50s was hard to fathom.

To Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV coach, it seemed a flat-out “miracle.”

And had the basketball not slipped through Mark Macon’s hands on Temple’s desperate length-of-the-court inbounds pass with two seconds left Sunday, the Owls could somehow have pulled out a victory.

As it was, the ball ended up in the arms of Anthony Todd, who hurled it high into the air. Just two seconds earlier, he had taken a pass in the lane, bobbled it and made a shaky jumper that gave UNLV its first lead since 2-0. It also gave the eighth-ranked, once-beaten Rebels a 59-58 victory, spoiling the undefeated record of third-ranked Temple in front of a sellout crowd of 19,000 in the Thomas & Mack Center.

Temple (14-1), had been one of only two undefeated Division I teams in the country. Now, only Brigham Young remains.

Todd, a redshirt last season, scored only seven points , and was hardly the player UNLV (17-1) wanted to have shoot with the game on the line. But, with Jarvis Basnight on the bench after fouling out and Gerald Paddio on the sidelines after being shaken up in a scramble for the ball, well, there weren’t a lot of choices.

Another less-than-likely hero had put UNLV in position to win. Keith James, who had replaced the injured Paddio with less than two minutes left, pulled up for a three-point shot from the top of the key with 53 seconds remaining, cutting what had once been a 12-point Temple lead to 58-57.

Temple, led by the poised and remarkable play of Macon, its freshman guard, had seemed in control with 1:42 left, with a four-point lead and the ball. But as the Owls held the ball, Clint Rossum, who was guarding Macon, stepped between Macon and the sideline in front of the UNLV bench and came up with the steal that resulted in James’ three-pointer.

Later, Macon, who finished with 19 points, said the ball had gone out of bounds on the play.

“The bench tipped that ball back in,” Macon said. “The ref didn’t see it. . . . It’s obviously not to be heard of now.”

Temple got the ball back with a one-point lead and, with time running down on the shot clock, passed inside to Duane Causwell, who made a basket but was fouled, the officials ruled, before the shot.

Causwell, a sophomore who had attempted just 10 free throws all season, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and UNLV got the ball.

“If we had gotten the goal, that would have been a three- or four-point lead, possibly with the free throw,” said John Chaney, Temple coach. “It was good that he had the courage to take the (field goal) shot. . . . If he’s lucky, he’ll see a hell of a lot more foul shooting.”

Chaney also said he thought that Todd may have traveled before taking the game-winning shot, but that he “didn’t think the officials should call that to give away the game if they didn’t call it in the first half.”

The Owls’ start had been the best in the school’s 93-season history.

“I’m very extremely proud of the way the team played,” Chaney said. “At this stage of the season, it’s important to face teams that offer a challenge and give you some idea of the measure of the character of a team. I’m extremely pleased.”

He was not happy, however, to see the end of the undefeated streak--or even the pressures that went with it.

“I wish we were still undefeated,” he said.

Tarkanian, whose team has been under scrutiny this season as it struggled in numerous Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. games and lost to UC Santa Barbara, called the game “incredible.”

“It’s just a miracle for us to win this game. And it was strange to win with Jarvis and Paddio out.”

It was UNLV’s pressure defense, Tarkanian said, that helped pull the game out.

“With about seven minutes to go, our pressure defense went up about a notch higher,” he said.

Over the past two seasons, UNLV and Temple have two of the best records in college basketball. UNLV, which went 37-2 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season, is 54-3. Temple, which went 32-4 last season and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, is 46-5, a mark that includes two losses to the Rebels.

Last season, UNLV beat Temple in the semifinals of the preseason NIT, winning 78-76 on Paddio’s three-pointer at the buzzer.

As similar as they are in accomplishment, the teams offered a marked contrast in style.

UNLV, of course, is known for its defense and its running game, for its dunks and emotional, athletic play.

Temple is a team that plays half-court offense, eschews high-fives, will opt for a 17-foot jumper instead of an alley-oop, and will dunk only in the type of situation Tim Perry found himself in once Sunday--a two-on-none break.

All of which made it all the more unlikely that UNLV would beat Temple in a game with the score in the 50s. The Rebels had not been held to fewer than 60 points since 1985.

“I thought we did an excellent job of keeping them off the scores they normally get,” Chaney said. “But you just can’t put your fingers in the holes to stop the bucket from leaking.”

It was the end of the game, in part, that seemed so frustrating. With Basnight (15 points) and Paddio (14) out of the game, Temple seemed in control.

But UNLV’s other players came through.

“People who aren’t supposed to shoot the ball go and shoot from 25 feet,” Chaney said. “I thought they would try to penetrate, but then the wrong guy goes and shoots three-point shots.”

The loss, Chaney insists, is now behind them.

“When I lose, I cry and feel bad. But we never even think about games that are over. We’re going to get on the plane back to Philly and forget we even played UNLV.”