Ricky Morgan sank two free throws with 16 seconds left to cap a comeback from a 13-point second-half deficit and give UNLV a 65-64 win over New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals Thursday.

After a timeout, Jeff Hart, a former walk-on who set a career high with five steals and tied a career high with 15 points on five 3-pointers, shot a hurried air ball from beyond the arc.

A wild scramble for the rebound ensued and Lobos guard Kris Collins ended up with the ball at midcourt but his desperation heave was way short as the buzzer sounded.

Collins ripped off his jersey in despair as the Lobos (17-13), the defending conference tournament champion, saw its slim NCAA hopes erased.

The Rebels (17-12) advanced to play top-seeded San Diego State (22-8) in the semifinals Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

Morgan led UNLV with 16 points. His two free throws capped a comeback from a 43-30 deficit with 16:16 left that was fueled by a tenacious fullcourt press, New Mexico's poor free-throw shooting and several close calls that went UNLV's way in the final few minutes.

The Lobos made just 5-of-12 free throws, negating their 9-of-19 performance from beyond the arc.

After UNLV tied it at 62 on Wendell White's jumper with 2:06 remaining, Tony Dandridge (11 points) restored New Mexico's lead with a 15-foot jumper at 1:45.

Louis Amundson hit one of two free throws to pull the Rebels to 64-63 with 1:12 remaining.

Dandridge was fouled with 24 seconds left but after a timeout missed both free throws and White grabbed the rebound for the Rebels.

Hart fouled Morgan, whose two free throws gave the Rebels their first lead since 4-3.

The Lobos took a 34-24 halftime lead despite foul trouble from David Chiotti, their best post player. Hart sank a trio of 3-pointers in the final six minutes of the first half to give the Lobos a double-digit cushion they maintained until the Rebels began their charge with seven minutes left.

In and out of the lineup in the second half with four fouls, Chiotti finished with 6 points, half his average.

White scored 14 points, Amundson 11 and Jo'Van Adams 10 as the Rebels avenged a 47-39 loss to the Lobos in Albuquerque on March 1 when they shot a season-worst 24 percent and matched their lowest output in the program's history.

Brandon Heath made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left Friday night and San Diego State improved its NCAA hopes with a 63-60 victory over UNLV in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Heath, the player of the year in the conference, spotted up from near the top of the arc and swished the 3-pointer to give the top-seeded Aztecs (23-8) a 61-60 lead.

On the next possession, UNLV's Curtis Terry got called for walking on a jump-stop near the free-throw line. San Diego State's John Sharper followed with two free throws to put the Aztecs up by three with 6.3 seconds left.

San Diego State fouled Ricky Morgan on the next possession, but he missed the first free throw and the Rebels (17-13) never had a chance for the intentional miss and chance at a putback to tie.

Lon Kruger's fourth-seeded team will wait to see if its 17 wins are good enough to earn an invite to the NIT for the fifth straight year.

The Aztecs, meanwhile, are one win away from ensuring only the fifth trip to the NCAA tournament in the history of the program. Their latest win tied a record for victories in the Division I era at San Diego State and the Aztecs have already celebrated their first regular-season conference title since 1978.

Their RPI rating, however, is hovering in the 60s, which means they could very well need to win Saturday in the finals against the winner of the Utah-Wyoming semifinal - played later Friday night - to ensure a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Heath and all-conference forward Marcus Slaughter saved this game for the Aztecs after it appeared to be slipping away. Heath finished with 22 points and Slaughter had his second straight monster game - finishing with 16 points and 14 rebounds after a 17-point, 19-rebound day in a quarterfinal win over Colorado State.

More impressively, the duo scored every point for their team - save Sharper's two free throws at the tail end - over the final 7:37 to rally the Aztecs from a 49-46 deficit.

Led by solid inside play by Dustin Villepigue and nice floor work by Jo'Van Adams, the Rebels turned a seven-point halftime deficit into a 41-37 lead about halfway through the second half.

UNLV played great defense, too, denying San Diego State a basket in the paint for the first 10 minutes of the half. But Slaughter made four free throws and Heath hit a pair of 12-foot runners to put San Diego State ahead 56-53. From there, it was a back-and-forth game.

On the game-winner, Heath showed persistence, spotting up after missing an open look on the previous possession. He went 9-for-21 from the floor and only 2-for-9 from 3-point range, but made the shot when it was most important.

Adams had 14 points for the Rebels and Morgan scored 13.

The UNLV softball team (15-22) fell behind the visiting Missouri Tigers (18-13) 4-0 after three innings of play, but found the offense necessary to score 11 unanswered runs in a rain-soaked 11-4 victory Tuesday night. The game was the third of the non-conference series between UNLV and MU, with the Rebels winning the final two games. The first pitch was delayed 45-minutes due to lightning and rain in the area and was halted a second time for 15-mintues in the bottom of the fifth with UNLV at the plate.

Missouri pounced on the scoreboard first with a single run in the first inning. Back-to-back singles put runners at first and second after two hitters. Following the first out of the inning, a fielder's choice putout at second allowed from the runner to move to third, but an errant throw to get the batter out at first went wide of the base and advanced the run home.

MU scored its final three runs of the game in the third in taking a 4-0 lead. A single and a stolen base put a runner in scoring position for an RBI-double. The run prompted a pitching change for the Rebels. Shannon Crisp (7-11) entered in relief of Becky McDonald with no outs and the runner at second. Crisp struck out the first batter she faced and then walked the second. A double to right center brought home the two runners on base. That runner was left stranded on second as Crisp got a fly out and a strike out to end the inning.

UNLV's offensive began in the fourth and lasted through the sixth inning, as the Rebels scored four in the third, three in the fifth and four more in the sixth. The Rebels out hit Missouri, 13-to-7. It was the second straight outing in which UNLV amassed 13 hits.
 

In the fourth, the Rebels used three hits and one Missouri error to score their three runs. Rosa Ordaz took first on a one-out walk and went to third on a single by Bri Bernardi. Bernardi took second on a wild pitch thrown by Megan Dennis and came home on a pinch-hit double by Lauren von Holst to the left field gap. Brittany Freight plated von Holst with the second consecutive double of the inning. Freight stole third with Brittany Bolinger at the plate and eventually scored as the throw to third by the second baseman caromed off of her helmet and over UNLV's dugout.

With the score knotted 4-4, the rains came back. Missouri was unable to mount any offense in what could have been the final inning of play. UNLV took advantage of the situation and distanced themselves from the Tigers with three runs. Maggie Livreri was hit by a pitch to put the first runner on base. With Crisp at the plate, the rains forced a 15-minute delay. After Crisp's at-bat, Kendall Fearn laid down a sacrifice bunt, but reached first safely on an errant throw by MU's catcher. With runners at first and second, Ordaz brought Livreri home on a single to left. Fearn and Ordaz moved up a base on a wild pitch thrown to Bernardi, who eventually walked. After a fielder's choice ground out, Kendall McSwain came up with the bases loaded. McSwain dropped a single in front of the diving centerfielder, which scored two runs.

The Rebel offense wasn't finished in the game as Bolinger began the inning with a bunt single. Livreri scored Bolinger with a ball hit into the hole at short that was booted and rolled to the left center fence. With Livreri at second, Crisp singled to center. Livreri came around to score and Crisp took second on an errant throw to the plate. Crisp moved to third on a fly out by Fearn. Ordaz walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Kelly Griego and Britney Hillyer hit back-to-back singles through the left side to bring home a run each.

UNLV hits the road for the fourth straight weekend with a trip to Utah for the start of Mountain West Conference action. The Rebels will play two in Provo against BYU on Thursday at 4 pm PST and follow it up with two more against Utah on Friday at noon PST.