The No. 3 UNLV Rebels advanced to the semifinals of the 2012 Mountain West Conference on Thursday night with a 56-48 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys. We need to give plenty of credit to the Cowboys for losing by just eight points. The team had entered halftime down by 17 points, 28-11, and then roared back in the second half with a 37-28 points advantage.
After shooting just 12 percent in the first 20 minutes of the game, the Cowboys improved to 29.3 percent when the final buzzer went off. Leonard Washington and Luke Martinez tied for the team lead with 11 points (five scorers had two points each at the end of the first half).
Mike Moser led the Rebels with 22 points and 14 rebounds, the only scorer to reach double digits for the team. Anthony Marshall came close to joining him as the owner of a double-double, but he scored eight points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
The Rebels will play the No. 2 New Mexico Lobos on Friday night.
For more on the 2012 Mountain West Tournament, stick with SB Nation Denver and Mountain West Connection. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more on March Madness.