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Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong (34) jumps up from the sidelines as Moses Wood (1) drives to the basket during a game against the Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) Redhawks at the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday Jan. 21, 2021.

Moses Wood is not anyone’s idea of a defensive stopper. The 6-foot-8 forward isn’t the quickest, longest or most vertically explosive player, and though he’s listed at 210 pounds, your eyes tell you he’s on the scrawnier side of that number. But he makes up for all that by doing just a little bit extra.

So it was fitting that in a game where UNLV threw the kitchen sink at Utah State on the defensive end, it was Wood who came up with the game-sealing play, blocking a potential tying 3 at the buzzer to preserve a 59-56 victory for the scarlet and gray.

In dealing Utah State just its second loss of the conference season (9-2, 12-5 overall), UNLV improved to 6-6 and 3-2 in the Mountain West.

UNLV did it with defense, holding Utah State to 32.8% shooting on the night and 6-of-28 in the second half (21.4%).

UNLV didn’t do much better with the ball, making 6-of-30 in the second half, and a series of turnovers in the final minutes allowed USU to trim UNLV’s 9-point lead down to one point, 57-56, with 10 nerve-racking seconds left on the clock.

Junior guard David Jenkins sank a pair of free throws to restore a 3-point advantage with 5.6 seconds remaining, and then Utah State ran a set play in which the ball was inbounded the length of the court to 7-foot center Neemias Queta. The big man then kicked it out to trailing guard Steven Ashworth on the right wing for what looked like an open 3.

Wood sniffed out the action as Queta made the catch, however, and with maximum effort he was able to cover the ground and reject Ashworth’s shot as the final horn sounded.

The play was more about instincts, intelligence and hustle than any physical attribute, and because of Wood’s rejection UNLV nailed down its biggest win of the season.

“Honestly I thought that was a great play by Utah State because they got us all up [in the backcourt] and chucked it down to Queta,” Wood said. “But I knew obviously they needed a 3, so Queta was going to be looking for someone on the perimeter. I saw No. 3 coming on the side, and I was like ‘Yeah I’m just going to commit to this.’ Got the block, game over.”

His hustle on the final play was even more impressive considering Wood logged a season-high 36 minutes against Utah State. His previous high had been 26 minutes, but T.J. Otzelberger promoted Wood to the starting lineup for the first time this season and the sophomore played well enough that Otzelberger was loath to take him out.

Wood finished with 10 points, six rebounds, one steal and the all-important block, but Otzelberger said his impact went beyond the box score.

That’s exactly what the coach had in mind when he moved Wood into the starting five.

“As we’ve had these games at home, you can see his confidence growing, and seeing him not only make shots but be a great ball mover, defender, rebounder and just playing with so much heart,” Otzelberger said. “The stat sheet doesn’t do justice to what a great teammate and how many winning plays he had tonight. It was time to go to Moses and he stepped up when his number was called.”

Junior guard Bryce Hamilton returned to action after missing UNLV’s last game due to a sprained ankle and scored 14 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Junior guard David Jenkins matched him with 14 points on 4-of-13 from the field, and as strange as it sounds, those shooting percentages were OK given the context of the game.

Utah State managed to make just 5-of-22 from 3-point range, and Queta had trouble gaining any traction inside as UNLV big man Mbacke Diong stood his ground. Queta posted eight points on 3-of-9 shooting; on the defensive end he snagged 11 rebounds and six blocks, which gives a pretty good idea of why UNLV had such a hard time scoring.

But the scarlet and gray did just enough to hold on, and now they’re on a five-game winning streak and Wood is looking forward to going for six on Wednesday in the return game against Utah State.

“We’re on a roll now, man,” Wood said. “That’s five in a row. I think we’re hot. We’re on a roll and I feel really good about Wednesday coming up and the rest of the season. I think we’re one of the most dangerous teams right now in the Mountain West.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

Article written by #LasVegasSun

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