Utah State ends UNLV’s 5-game winning streak
UNLV came into Wednesday’s two-game series finale against Utah State looking for a sweep to close out a perfect homestand.
But Utah State opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a double-digit lead en route to an 83-74 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV guard David Jenkins scored 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting, and Moses Wood made three of five shots for 11 points. But the rest of Rebels (6-7, 3-3 Mountain West) were 11-of-34 shooting (32.3 percent), and they were outrebounded 41-29 as their five-game winning streak came to an end.
UNLV beat Utah State 59-56 in Monday’s opener.
“I thought we were the team that was more physical and played with more energy and enthusiasm on Monday. That wasn’t the case tonight,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We need to have the same team show up every night if we’re going to be successful at the level we want to be. Unfortunately, we fell short in that category tonight.”
Rollie Worster had 19 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals to lead five Aggies who scored in double figures and help them end their two-game skid.
Brock Miller had 15 points, Justin Bean added 13 points and nine rebounds, Neemias Queta 13 points and eight rebounds and Marco Anthony 12 points.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Second-half success
Utah State made six field goals in the entire second half Monday, but had that many in the first 5:17 of the second half Wednesday.
The Aggies (13-5, 10-2) shot 56.7 percent from the floor in the second half to finish 50 percent for the game.
The Rebels went cold from beyond the arc in the second half, going 3-of-13 after a 7-of-15 first half.
“I don’t think we did a good job of coming out focused,” Jenkins said. “I think we kind of just showed up. We beat them on Monday, but we knew they were going to come out more physical, and we need to come more ready next time.”
The combination of not making outside shots and an inability to get the ball to the basket with Queta looming in the paint kept them from cutting into their deficit, which hovered from nine to 13 for nearly the entire second half after Utah State’s opening run.
2. Tough night for Hamilton
UNLV guard Bryce Hamilton, the team’s leading scorer at 19.7 points per game entering Wednesday, returned from an ankle injury in Monday’s win and provided a spark with 14 points and eight assists.
He didn’t have the same impact Wednesday. Hamilton missed his first seven shots and finished 1-of-12 for two points.
He tied with Mbacke Diong for the team lead with seven rebounds, but he had no assists.
3. Fans in the stands
For the first time this season, there were fans in the stands at the Thomas & Mack Center, as about 50 family members of Rebels were allowed to attend.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
