You hear it every year before Senior Night.
“It” is how quickly the four years – or five in the case of guard Kendall Wallace who sat out the 2010-11 season rehabbing a knee injury – have gone by.
“It definitely flies by,” guard Oscar Bellfield said. “It feels like a few weeks ago I was just a freshman.”
A freshman who hit a game-winning floater over Samardo Samuels on New Year’s Eve at famed Freedom Hall to help give UNLV a memorable 56-55 upset of then-No. 18 Louisville on national TV.
Bellfield along with fellow seniors Chace Stanback, who transferred to UNLV in 2008 after spending a season on a Final Four squad at UCLA, Brice Massamba and Wallace will play their final regular season home game for the 17th-ranked Runnin’ Rebels (24-7, 8-5) when they face Wyoming (20-9, 6-7) at a sold out Thomas & Mack Center at 7 p.m.
The foursome and their families will be honored in a special ceremony before the game. And don’t be surprised if a few tears are shed.
“This is it, it’s my last home game as a Runnin’ Rebel,” Stanback said. “It went by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was playing my first game here. It’s definitely going to be an emotional time for me and my family.”
Here’s a look at the seniors who will be honored tonight in a special pregame ceremony starting at 6:40 p.m.:
OSCAR BELLFIELD
Position: Guard
Hometown/High School: Los Angeles/Westchester HS
Career starts: 119
Career average: 9.2
Favorite memory: “The (2008 New Year’s Eve) game at Louisville of course. That’s a big one. And beating the No. 1 team (North Carolina) this year.”
Proudest accomplishment: “Graduating, definitely. I’ll be getting a degree in journalism and media studies.”
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BRICE MASSAMBA
Position: Center/forward
Hometown/High School: Linkoping, Sweden/Findlay Prep
Career starts: 53
Career average: 4.2
Favorite memory: “I got a couple. Beating Louisville my freshman year at Louisville. That’s a big thing for me. Beating North Carolina at home was a big thing. Beating Wisconsin at home … Beating all those big teams was fun.”
Proudest accomplishment: “I’d say just being able to play for four years and getting my degree.”
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CHACE STANBACK
Position: Forward
Hometown/High School: Los Angeles/Fairfax HS
Career starts: 95
Career average: 12.3
Favorite memory: “The season is not over yet. You might have some more great memories to come. I really don’t have one right now. You can ask me that question after the season.”
Proudest accomplishment: “Every game. Just playing together and our wins at home. We’re proud of that. We’re proud of our whole season.”
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KENDALL WALLACE
Position: Guard
Hometown/High School: Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View HS
Career starts: 11
Career average: 4.3
Favorite memory: “Probably winning the (2008) Mountain West Tournament title, and winning a game that year in the NCAA Tournament.”
Proudest accomplishment: “I would say graduating because that (a degree) is something that I can take with me the rest of my life.”