Irvine Comes Close Again, but UNLV Survives, 97-95

That UC Irvine nearly upset nationally ranked Nevada Las Vegas Wednesday night in Thomas and Mack Center wasn’t enough for Coach Bill Mulligan.

So what if his Irvine team figured to get blown out by the Rebels, but only lost by two points, 97-95. At this point in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. season, Mulligan has concluded that a good effort against a favored team might be nice, but, unless you win, it doesn’t matter.

“I’m tired of finishing close,” Mulligan said. “I would really like to win one.”

At times, it looked as if Irvine (8-9 in conference and 13-14 overall) might get one. Irvine led, 42-40, at halftime, and was ahead, 72-71, with 7:36 remaining. However, Las Vegas (16-1, 23-3), ranked ninth (Associated Press) and 10th (United Press International), rallied behind Armon Gilliam and Fred Banks to clinch at least a tie for its third consecutive PCAA championship.

Remarkable free-throw shooting, and the play of center Johnny Rogers and forward Tod Murphy, kept Irvine close.

Irvine, which set an NCAA record in 1981 by making 34 free throws in 34 attempts against Pacific, was nearly as accurate against Las Vegas, hitting 30 of 31 free throws.

Rogers and Murphy, meanwhile, were almost unstoppable inside as they combined for 59 points. Rogers, who finished with a game-high 32, was only 3 of 11 from the floor in the first half but scored 21 in the second half. Murphy scored 27 overall, and made his first six shots in the second half.

e After Irvine had gained a 72-71 lead on a pair of Rogers’ free throws, guard Anthony Jones scored two free throws and a layup to give Las Vegas a 75-72 lead, and the Rebels were never behind again after that.

Gilliam, who led Las Vegas with 24 points, scored eight points in the last six minutes of the game to help the Rebels hold on. A 65% free throw shooter going into the game, he was 6 of 7 from the line down the stretch.

His final free throws of the game gave Las Vegas a 92-87 lead with 42 seconds left, but a three-point shot by Irvine’s Rodney Scott cut it to 92-90.

It was then Banks’ turn to star for Las Vegas. He had two one-and-one opportunities in the final 30 seconds and made all four free throws. Las Vegas led, 97-92, with one second when Boris King made a three-point shot at the buzzer.