Defense helps Rebels outlast Southern in season-opening win

It wasn’t always pretty.

UNLV’s men’s basketball team committed 18 turnovers, shot 15.4 percent on 3-pointers and went almost seven minutes without a point late in the game during their 2022 season opener against Southern on Monday.

But it was enough.

“Really good fight, just sort of figuring out how to win a game,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “Happy for them, proud of us, proud of them and just excited to get back in the gym.”

UNLV started its season with a 66-56 win at the Thomas &Mack Center as the Rebels defense forced 28 turnovers along the way. Sophomore Keshon Gilbert led the team with 13 points and three assists, while fifth-year guard EJ Harkless added 11 points despite missing part of the second half with cramps.

“We stayed together,” Gilbert said.

The Rebels defense showed up early. Kruger’s first starting lineup of the season — featuring Gilbert, Harkless, David Muoka, Luis Rodriguez and Elijah Parquet — set the tone.

They were active in the passing lanes, showed off some full-court press and forced 17 turnovers in the first half. Southern only took 22 shots during the first 20 minutes.

UNLV also got out in transition, as Harkless stole a pass and assisted a soaring Rodriguez for a dunk to open the former Ole Miss player’s start as a Rebel. UNLV scored 16 points on the fastbreak.

Harkless also helped provide the highlight of the night when he scrambled for a long rebound before colliding with two Southern players. As he fell, the former Oklahoma guard launched the ball behind his head to a streaking Gilbert.

“It’s crazy,” Gilbert said. “Last week I sent EJ a screen recording from practice, I was running the floor hard. I was like, ‘If you see me, man, throw it.’”

Gilbert corralled the pass, waited for support, then lobbed the ball off the backboard to an on-rushing Rodriguez for the tomahawk dunk.

While the Rebels defense and transition looked strong early, their offense remains a work in progress. Harkless was the Rebels’ best weapon in the halfcourt, but he found most of his success by getting to the free-throw line. He scored nine points in the first half, five coming on free throws.

Other Rebels weren’t able to get much going offensively as UNLV shot 31.3 percent from the floor

The Rebels were missing forward Isaiah Cottrell, the former Bishop Gorman star who transferred to UNLV from West Virginia, who didn’t dress for Monday’s game.

Southern kept it close by bringing some defense of its own. After Harkless checked out with cramps, the Jaguars brought a full-court press. The move helped Southern cut the deficit to just eight points with 3:30 remaining. UNLV went almost seven minutes without scoring late in the game, but free-throw shooting did just enough to let them claim the season-opening win

“As time goes on they’re just going to get more and more comfortable playing with each other,” Kruger said.

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