BERKELEY, Calif. — Quintrell Thomas grabbed Anthony Marshall’s airball under the basket and scored on a short hook shot with 1.2 seconds remaining to lift No. 21 UNLV to a 76-75 victory over California on Sunday.
The Runnin’ Rebels led for most of the second half but trailed 75-74 following two free throws by Cal’s Justin Cobbs with 11.9 seconds left. Marshall then rushed a long jumper that Thomas alertly grabbed and flipped in. Thomas was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Justin Hawkins then blocked a three-point attempt by Cobbs from midcourt as the buzzer sounded.
Anthony Bennett had career-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds while leading UNLV (7-1) to its sixth consecutive victory. Bryce Dejean-Jones also had a career-best 22 points.
Allen Crabbe scored 18 for California.
The Rebels weren’t sharp offensively early and trailed most of the first half. They made up for it by dominating the rebounding battle despite losing leading rebounder Mike Moser to injury less than five minutes into the game.
Moser crashed to the floor during a scramble for a loose ball and lay on his stomach for several moments as trainers rushed to him. Coach Dave Rice also made his way over before Moser - who missed UNLV’s previous game against Portland with a hip injury - was slowly helped to his feet and escorted into the locker room. He clutched the shirt of an assistant coach for support as he walked off.
It didn’t seem to slow the Rebels.
They had three players in double figures by halftime, limited Cal to one offensive rebound, and outscored the Bears 22-6 in the paint in the first half. Then they held off a late charge by the Golden Bears.
NO. 16 CREIGHTON 77, AKRON 61
OMAHA, Neb. - Doug McDermott scored 30 points for No. 16 Creighton, which broke away late in the first half to beat Akron.
McDermott, who made a career-high six three-pointers, also had 30 points against Wisconsin last month and on seven other occasions in his career for the Bluejays (9-1).
Gregory Echenique added nine points and seven rebounds for Creighton.
Zeke Marshall and Nick Harney both had 12 points for Akron (4-3), which is0-25 against ranked opponents since becoming a Division I program in 1980-81. The Zips, who came in averaging almost 10 three-pointers a game, made a season-low four on 16 attempts and were held to their lowest point total.
Creighton’s Grant Gibbs had eight assists and no turnovers to go along with his seven points and six rebounds.
Gibbs has 27 assists and one turnover in his last three games.
TOP 25/SEC WOMEN NO. 7 KENTUCKY 68, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 56
LEXINGTON, Ky. - DeNesha Stallworth had 16 points, and the Wildcats used a first-half surge to get the victory.
The Wildcats (8-1) got off to a slow start, but the Blue Raiders endured an 11-minute stretch in the first half when they had no field goals and scored only two points. Over that time, Kentucky stretched its lead from two points to 16.
Icelyn Elie had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Middle Tennessee (6-4).
Sports, Pages 17 on 12/10/2012