LAS VEGAS – Another year, another BYU-UNLV tournament final, and another Rebel championship. No. 2 UNLV ousted the top-seeded Cougars 76-61 to come away with the MWC tournament championship and lock up the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament bid. Wink Adams caught fire during a crucial stretch run in the second half, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers and a driving layup to give the home team a sizeable lead and spur the Rebels on to victory. Adams finished the game with 23 points and went 4-of-5 from behind the arc. The junior was named Tournament MVP after averaging 24 points per game. “I kind of got a lot of confidence,” Adams said. “My teammates believed in me, told me to keep shooting. I was just able to knock them down for my team.” UNLV’s Curtis Terry made a strong case for the MVP himself in the championship as he finished the game with 20 points and five rebounds. In total, Terry sat on the bench just 16 seconds in the tournament. For his efforts, Terry was named to the all-tournament team. Joining Adams and Terry on the all-tournament team was BYU’s Lee Cummard, UNLV’s Rene Rougeau and Utah’s Luke Nevill. Rougeau finished the game with eight points and 10 rebounds, six of which were on offense. BYU controlled the game early thanks to some hot shooting from Jonathan Tavernari and Sam Burgess. The pair shot a combined 4-of-5 from behind the arc to set the pace and the Cougs jumped out to a ten-point lead midway through the half. The Rebels would come charging back though. Terry and Kendall Wallace would both heat up late in the half and UNLV was able to cut the BYU lead to four (37-33) heading into the break. The home team would sustain that momentum early in the second half, going on a 10-1 run and taking a seven-point lead. The Cougars were able to keep it close for the majority of the latter half, but when Adams decided to take over, it was the Rebels’ ball game. “For the most part, he was just making big plays,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “We were contesting his shot. He was just making big plays at a big time in the game.”
Anna KartashovaWink Adams celebrates as he runs down the court of the MWC Championships. Adams was named tournament MVP after the Rebels beat top-seed BYU.
Tyler CobbCurtis Terry was named to the MWC all-conference team.