Fresno State erased an eight-point deficit with 1:33 left and came back from five down with six seconds remaining to defeat visiting UNLV 98-96 on a buzzer-beating jump shot Tuesday night in one of college basketball's wildest finishes this season.
Jake Heidbreder made the jumper to cap that seven-point run over those final six seconds.
“I can say 48 years in coaching, I’ve never seen that," Fresno State's Vance Walberg said.
The game itself was a foul-filled slog that lasted about three hours. UNLV would have been down to four players if Naas Cunningham had picked up another foul after the Rebels had five other players foul out. Fresno State lost two players to fouls.
Overall, there were 62 fouls, 80 free throws taken, six technical fouls, three flagrant fouls and multiple video reviews.
“Most I’ve ever been around," UNLV coach Josh Pastner said of the reviews. "There was review after review after review by the officials, which really stopped the flow of the game a lot of times, but that’s their job. That’s their decisions to do that, and they have the right to do that.”
The Rebels led 94-91 with eight seconds left when Al Green was fouled shortly after the inbounds pass. His two free throws gave UNLV a 96-91 lead with six seconds to go.
But Green also was called for a flagrant foul on the play after trying to get around Bastien Rieber, who then made his two foul shots.
“They told me he hit him on his neck," Pastner said. "Everyone on the bench told me there was no flagrant. It was just a basketball play. He was trying to get open, but the refs called it, and that’s part of the deal.”
Because of that ruling, Fresno State retained possession. David Douglas Jr. then nailed a 25-foot 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to tie the game.
UNLV's Howie Fleming tried a length-of-the-court inbounds pass, but it went out of bounds without touching any players. That gave the Bulldogs possession underneath UNLV's basket, and Heidbreder made them pay by sinking the winning shot.
“Tough loss," Pastner said. "Hard one to swallow there. Really disappointing. Had chances to win and just didn't get it done.”
The feeling, obviously, was opposite on the other side.
“I came in (to the locker room) and said, ‘Great job!’” Walberg said. “The next thing I know, everybody had a water bottle on me. I am soaking wet right now, but I'll take it any time.”
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