BYU basketball: Y. won't get 3rd shot at the Rebels

LAS VEGAS — It was hard to get them to admit it, but most of BYU's players eventually confessed Thursday that they were hoping for one more chance at the UNLV Rebels in the Thomas & Mack Center — a team and an arena that have haunted the Cougars in recent years.

"Yeah, I mean, if it happens it happens," the Cougars' Lee Cummard said after BYU's win over Air Force on Thursday.

Well, it's not happening. Cummard will now finish his career without having beaten UNLV at the Mack. The Rebels were throttled 71-57 by the San Diego Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals and are now likely out of the NCAA Tournament.

Now, instead of facing a team that swept them this season, the Cougars will face a team in tonight's semifinals that they swept. But beating a team three straight times is a difficult task, especially as well as the Aztecs are playing right now. Also, the Aztecs were stung badly when BYU overcame a huge deficit to win in San Diego last month.

"We'll have our hands full, that's for sure," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "I'm sure they'll be ready for us."

San Diego State is considered a team on the bubble, and the Aztecs might need to win the MWC Tournament just for a spot into the Big Dance — which only adds more incentive to today's game.

"San Diego State looks at this as a chance to really do something because of a couple of losses in the regular conference" Cougars' center Chris Miles said.

The Cougars, with one tournament win under their belts, will be aiming for their sixth straight win, and a return to the tournament championship game for the fifth time.

"We're a team in really big possessions that seems to come up big," Rose said.

Cummard, who returned to BYU for his senior year hoping for a third regular-season title, an MWC Tournament title and a win or two in the NCAA Tournament, feels the Cougars' best basketball could still be ahead.

"We're just trying to stay focused. We're trying to play as if we're out to prove something. We're just taking it a game at a time," Cummard said.

THE IRON MAN: Cummard played 39 minutes on Thursday, a high for the season. But Rose doesn't think his team leader will wear down.

"He's not going to get to play here for very much longer, so let's get the most out of him that we can," Rose said.