UNLV entered Saturday afternoon red hot, winning three straight games and having a record of 5-2 in Mountain West play, just a game back of first place. But the Rebels had to take on the league-leading
San Diego State Aztecs, and they couldn’t miss from deep.
The Aztecs knocked down 8 of 13 shots from deep and finished at 56.5% overall, powering them to an 82-71 win. UNLV left too many points at the free-throw line, only connecting on 54.5% of their attempts.
San Diego State guard Miles Byrd turned the game into a shooting clinic. Byrd finished with 23 points on 87.5% shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from deep. He also filled up the stat sheet with 5 assists and 4 steals.
Guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was UNLV’s star, scoring 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting, but he was rough from the perimeter, shooting 1-of-7 from three, and made his scoring feel like a hard grind instead of consistent dominance.
At one point late in the first half, the Rebels briefly took the lead with 3:11 left, but SDSU closed the half like the solid team they are and finished up 39-34. That five-point cushion was huge because right out of the gates in the second half, Byrd hit a three to make it an eight-point lead, and that set the tone for the rest of the half.
The Rebels didn’t fold their cards, however, and turned defense into offense to quickly trim the lead back to 44-42. Forward Kimani Hamilton brought energy all game, finishing with 12 points.
That, however, was the peak moment for UNLV. From that moment on, SDSU guard Taj Degourville gave UNLV huge problems, finishing with 13 points. Guard Reese Dixon-Waters matched him with 13 points, but he has corralled 7 rebounds, helping gain the Aztecs extra possession to keep UNLV from getting multiple looks.
UNLV did apply defensive pressure, creating chances with its eight steals and 21 points off turnovers, but it wasn’t able to get the stops it needed because of its inconsistency at the free-throw line.
Forward Tyrin Jones had a tough night at the line, hitting only 2-of-10 from the stripe. That’s eight missed points in a game where UNLV was chasing from behind most of the time.
Another big difference in this game was the bench point differential. The Aztecs have some phenomenal bench production, something known coming into this game, and it showed. SDSU finished with 29 bench points, compared to UNLV’s 11 bench points.
This is a tough loss for UNLV because they came in playing their best ball and had an opportunity to beat the best team at home. However, the path is clear. Clean up the free-throw shooting and work on perimeter defense, and find another perimeter shooter to lighten Gibbs-Lawhorn’s load from beyond the arc.
The tough competition doesn’t stop there, as the 15-4 New Mexico Lobos will come into town on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The Lobos are winners of five of their last six games, and it will be a good game to prove UNLV still has a chance to compete in the Mountain West.
