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Las Vegas • Like many unlucky visitors to Sin City, Utah State coach Stew Morrill couldn't quite figure out how he lost Saturday night.

"I don't even know where to start," he said, shaking his head after UNLV's 79-77 overtime victory over the Aggies at the Thomas & Mack Center. "We put ourselves in position to win the game. We had a chance to win the game about five times. But we just gift-wrapped it and gave it back to them [with] crazy fouls and missed free throws."

The craziest foul came with 2.4 seconds left in a tie game.

After Utah State's Jojo McGlaston missed a straight-away 3-pointer, David Collette reached in and fouled the Rebels' Cody Doolin, who was cradling the rebound.

Doolin strolled to the other end of the floor after the inexplicable foul and calmly buried two free throws to give UNLV its victory.

"There is no explanation for the play at the end of the game," Morrill said. "We should have gone to double-overtime. I have no explanation for that. I don't understand that at all and I'm sure [Collette] doesn't understand it, either."

Morrill's frustration was understandable.

Utah State owned a 64-59 lead with 49 seconds left and Jalen Moore had a chance to extend the lead. But he missed the front end of a one-and-one.

UNLV started a comeback six seconds later when McGlaston fouled Jordan Cornish on a 3-point shot. Cornish made all three free throws to keep the Rebels alive and they forced overtime on Patrick McCaw's floater with 1.9 seconds left.

"It's disturbing [because] we had so many chances to win in regulation," Morrill said. "Just chance after chance. … Give them credit. They threw in some shots. But we gave them chance after chance."

In overtime, Utah State jumped to a 74-68 lead after Moore made two free throws, McGlaston converted an explosive drive to the basket and Collette scored from underneath.

Again, however, UNLV fought back.

The Rebels tied the game, 77-77, when Christian Wood made two free throws with 38 seconds remaining. Utah State then ran down the clock and ended up with McGlaston's open jumper from the top of the circle.

It was short.

"It was an OK look," Morrill said. "He could have driven it. That was another option. But the game should have gone to another overtime if we don't score."

Said Moore, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, "We were trying to get a different shot, but they switched it up … and everybody saw what happened."

Collette's final foul spoiled an otherwise outstanding effort. He finished with 24 points, including 14 in the first half.

"Once in awhile you gift-wrap one and give it to the other team," Morrill said. "That's not taking any credit away from them. But that's the way I feel about it. We gift-wrapped it. …

"We played very well. We shot well and we rebounded. We played very well. We deserved, in my mind, to win the game. That's why it's so unfortunate we didn't." —

Storylines

• Cody Doolin makes two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in overtime to give UNLV a 79-77 victory over Utah State.

• The Aggies squander a five-point lead in the final 49 seconds of regulation and a six-point lead in overtime.

• David Collette leads Utah State with 24 points. Darius Perkins adds 19 and Jalen Moore finishes with 14.