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Arizona posts first win at UNLV

Dec 20, 2007 - 7:57 AM LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Arizona broke a long hex at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Jordan Hill scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds to lead the 19th-ranked Wildcats to a 52-49 victory over Nevada-Las Vegas.

Jawann McClellan added 16 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 26 seconds to play, as Arizona (8-2) beat the Runnin' Rebels for the first time in seven matchups in Sin City.

The Wildcats trailed by eight points in each half and never led until Nic Wise hit a single free throw for a 49-48 lead with 1:18 to play.

McClellan then drilled a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner to extend the margin to 52-48 with 26 ticks remaining.

After one free throw by Curtis Terry pulled UNLV (7-3) within 52-49, Hill had a chance to wrap it up, but he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.8 seconds to play.

Terry took the inbound pass but could only manage a 35-foot tying attempt that was well off the mark.

Wink Adams scored 19 points to lead UNLV, including a 3-pointer that gave the Runnin' Rebels a 48-44 lead with 4:15 to play. As it turned out, that would be their last field goal of the game.

Joe Darger had six straight points to spark UNLV to a 40-32 lead with 13:11 left to play. He finished with 13.

But Wise and Bayless buried consecutive 3-pointers to pull Arizona within two points and the game stayed tight the rest of the way.

UNLV got off to a fast start in the contest behind Adams, who scored 10 points in the first eight minutes to lift the Runnin' Rebels to a 16-8 lead.

Chase Budinger and Wise nailed 3-pointers to get the Wildcats within 18-16, but Adams hit a jumper and two free throws to extend the margin to 26-19 with 5:13 left in the half.

Adams had 14 of UNLV's first 26 points but did not score again until there was 8:09 left in the game, a drought of 17 minutes.

Two baskets by Hill, who had averaged 17 points in his previous three games, helped Arizona go to the half trailing, 30-28.