Feb. 12, 2005
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO - Odartey Blankson scored 23 points and Michael Umeh had 22 for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, who beat San Diego State 93-91 in overtime Saturday after making up a 10-point deficit with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
UNLV's Ricky Morgan scored the last three points of the game, making a layup with 50.9 seconds left and one free throw with 28.2 seconds left.
San Diego State's Chris Walton had a chance to tie the game with 1.4 seconds left but missed two free throws, including an air-ball on the first attempt.
The Runnin' Rebels (11-11, 3-6 Mountain West Conference), who trailed by 18 points with 12:28 left in regulation, won their second straight game and prevented a season sweep by the Aztecs (10-12, 4-5).
UNLV's Curtis Terry forced overtime with an off-balance 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to tie the game at 82-82.
The Runnin' Rebels trailed 81-71 with 28.5 seconds left after SDSU's Matt Thomas made two free throws. Blankson scored off a rebound with 17.8 seconds left, then was fouled taking a 3-point shot and made all three free throws with 13.6 seconds left to pull the Runnin' Rebels to 81-76.
SDSU's Trimaine Davis missed two free throws, then Jerel Blassingame made a 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds left to make it 81-79. Davis made the second of two free throws with 5.6 seconds left, enough time for the Runnin' Rebels to get the ball down the floor for Terry's 3-pointer.
UNLV had five 3-pointers in the last minute of regulation, three by Terry, and seven in the final 12:28.
San Diego State's Brandon Heath scored a game-high 29 points, going 17-of-17 from the free throw line. Marcus Slaughter added 25 points and 10 rebounds.
San Diego State led 55-37 with 12:28 left after Slaughter scored off a rebound. The Aztecs made just two more field goals the rest of regulation, while going 23-of-26 from the line.