National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
UNLV 64, Illinois 48
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 17, 2011
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: # Eric Curry, # Tom O'Neill, # Scott Thornley
Attendance: 15144
Mike Moser had 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while Quintrell Thomas added 13 points off the bench, enabling UNLV to get revenge against No. 19 Illinois with a 64-48 victory Saturday at the United Center.

Illinois (10-1), which came in unbeaten and was off to its best start since 2005-06, had its worst offensive performance of the season. The Illini shot a season-low 25 percent from the field, committed 14 turnovers and made just 9-of-18 free throws.

The Illini also lost for the fifth time in their last six games at the United Center.

These two teams met last year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and the Illini came away with an easy 73-62 victory. But this time, the Rebels asserted themselves from the get-go, and took a 33-22 lead into halftime.

UNLV (11-2) extended its advantage to 50-34 on Thomas’ jumper with 9:54 left, but Illinois climbed back to within 52-44 with less than five minutes to play. The Illini, however, couldn’t draw any closer.

D.J. Richardson finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Meyers Leonard and Brandon Paul each had seven points for the Illini, who lost to Illinois-Chicago 57-54 last year in this same building.

The Rebels, playing on the road for the seventh time in the last eight games, earned the win despite turning the ball over 18 times. However, 10 steals and nine blocks helped their cause, and they managed to defeat their second ranked opponent of the season.
Top Game Performances
 
UNLV   Illinois
Mike Moser 17 Scoring D.J. Richardson 19
Oscar Bellfield 6 Assists Meyers Leonard 3
Mike Moser 11 Rebounds D.J. Richardson 8
Oscar Bellfield 4 Free Throws Made Sam Maniscalco 3
Carlos Lopez 2 Steals Brandon Paul 5
Oscar Bellfield 2 Blocks Brandon Paul 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
UNLV 64 44.0 3-11 17-20 11 39 9 10 17
Illinois 48 25.4 7-25 9-18 12 33 1 7 14