‘Gotta wear it’: Rebels suffer 1st Mountain West loss in blowout

Boise State took the UNLV men’s basketball team’s four-game winning streak and crushed it into pieces Tuesday in Boise, Idaho.

In doing so, the victors provided the Rebels with the resounding appraisal that UNLV has a long way to go if it hopes to reach the NCAA Tournament, a goal the players have mentioned all season.

After starting with a forgiving set of conference opponents (Fresno State, Air Force and San Jose State), the 81-59 defeat was the Rebels’ first loss in Mountain West play this season. It was also UNLV’s worst loss to the Broncos since coach Kevin Kruger was hired in 2020.

Kruger remains optimistic.

“We’ve just gotta wear it and take it,” he said of the loss. “Boise is gonna win a lot of games in this league, like they usually do. And by losing tonight, it doesn’t mean we can’t still go win games.”

In the start-to-finish domination, Boise State saw its lead balloon to 29 points midway through the second half. The Broncos (12-4, 4-1) were led by Tyson Degenhart’s 21 points.

Jailen Bedford had a team-high 11 points off the bench for the Rebels (9-6, 3-1), who trailed 43-24 at halftime.

The host team was undoubtedly bolstered by a desire to rebound from a 76-68 loss to San Diego State on Saturday. But it was clear that UNLV was outmatched in more than just motivation.

Right from the tip

The Broncos’ defense showed it would be tough from the beginning. UNLV won the tip, and Boise State forced a shot clock violation on the Rebels’ first possession.

The Rebels never led but had their most convincing stretch midway through the first half. The Rebels went on a 6-0 run to come within a point of the lead at 17-16.

But Boise State pulled away again with a quick Dylan Anderson dunk followed by a fast-break layup off a UNLV turnover. The Rebels fouled on the next possession, contributing to the Broncos’ scoring momentum that snowballed into a 10-0 run, and Kruger was forced to call a timeout with the Broncos exploding to a 27-18 lead.

Boise State’s rebounding margin is No. 16 in the nation, while the Rebels are second-to-last in the Mountain West. That showed Tuesday, as the Broncos outrebounded UNLV 38-21. The biggest discrepancy was on the offensive glass, with the Rebels snagging just three offensive rebounds to Boise State’s 13.

The worst display was when Degenhart finally scored a layup after he snagged four consecutive rebounds.

Kruger offered a reminder after the loss that the Rebels are capable of more.

“We’ve been playing some really good basketball over the last month,” he said. “I think this is a team and a roster where as long as we’re the aggressors, offensively and defensively, we’re going to have a lot of good results.”

‘We can’t quit’

UNLV point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 10 points, but he entered halftime with just four. He had an opportunity to change that when he was sent to the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds of the first half, but the sophomore missed both attempts.

Thomas also went without any assists the rest of the first half after getting three in the first three minutes. He added just one more before time expired. Still, Kruger praised Thomas for what the coach described as a “wanting to win.”

“I thought he and a couple other guys played with a good effort,” Kruger said. “We’ve just got to sustain it.”

Boise State closed the half on a 14-2 run, holding the Rebels to a 2:10 scoring drought. At that point UNLV had more turnovers (nine) than field goals (eight).

Julian Rishwain scored his first point of the game with a free throw 10 minutes into the second half. He finished with four points.

A 9-0 run for the Rebels cut the Broncos’ advantage to 67-51, and Boise State coach Leon Rice was swift to call a timeout to cool that momentum.

UNLV next plays at Colorado State (9-6, 3-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday, and it appears Kruger will direct his team to take Tuesday’s result in stride.

“The conference isn’t an easy one, a lot of tough challenges and tough games,” he said. “We can’t quit. It was a tough road loss to a really good team.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.