Rebels return to court Saturday after tragedy on campus

The Rebels will return to the hardwood for the first time in 11 days Saturday.

It’s been a prolonged layoff for UNLV, which won its last game 72-70 against Akron at the Thomas & Mack Center on Nov. 28. It was also extended by tragedy.

The Rebels were scheduled to play Wednesday on the road against Dayton. But the game was canceled, according to the schedule on the team’s official website, after a shooting on campus left three members of UNLV’s faculty dead.

An athletics department spokesperson said Thursday all future events were expected to proceed as planned.

For the Rebels, that means taking on Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. Saturday in the first game of the Jack Jones Classic at the Dollar Loan Center. UNLV will face No. 10 Creighton at 6 p.m. Wednesday in its second game of the event.

It’s been a challenging time for the Rebels and the entire community. UNLV announced Friday it will make changes to its end-of-semester operations as a result of the shooting.

“Yesterday was the most difficult day in the history of our university,” president Keith Whitfield said in a statement Thursday. “Words are still hard to come by as we’re only beginning to process the grief, loss, anger and fear associated with Wednesday’s tragic campus shooting that took the lives of three of our cherished faculty members.”

The Rebels returned to Las Vegas on Thursday after their game against Dayton was canceled. The team also canceled its media availability Friday.

UNLV expects no further changes moving forward. The Lady Rebels will travel to Oklahoma to play the Sooners at noon Saturday.

The men’s team isn’t scheduled to play again on campus until Dec. 21 with the National Finals Rodeo occupying the Thomas & Mack Center.

Loyola Marymount (5-4) is coming off a 73-59 loss to UNR. The Lions are led by junior guard Dominick Harris, who’s averaging 13.9 points off the bench this season.

Harris is one of four Loyola Marymount players averaging more than 10 points per game, along with senior guard Justin Wright (11.2), fifth-year guard Justice Hill (10.8) and senior forward Alex Merkviladze (10.2).

UNLV (3-3) is expected to play its first game without fifth-year starting wing Jalen Hill. Coach Kevin Kruger announced the Las Vegas native was out for the foreseeable future with a wrist injury ahead of the scheduled Dayton game.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.