Poor first half dooms UNLV against New Mexico in season finale

All season, UNLV has proved it can hang with any team in the conference. New Mexico on Saturday showed the Rebels can be beaten by anyone, too.

“It was stagnant, just a lot of walking around,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “The ball was sticking, we weren’t passing and cutting like we’ve been moving. We just got in too big of a hole.”

A poor start on offense put UNLV behind early, and New Mexico held on to secure a 76-67 win at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, despite a comeback led by senior Bryce Hamilton and junior Justin Webster. With its seeding already secured before the game, the Rebels were sluggish and never found a rhythm in the first half.

“They’ve earned not playing on that first day,” Kruger said. “While tonight was disappointing, we’re still going to pat them on the back a little bit because what they’ve done in these last eight, nine game stretch here is great.”

The Lobos (13-18, 5-12 Mountain West) and sophomore Jamal Mashburn Jr. took advantage. Coming off a 27-point game against Fresno State, New Mexico’s leading scorer was responsible for his team’s first 10 points.

However, UNLV’s shooting proved to be the biggest problem for the Rebels (18-13, 10-8). They shot 23.3 percent from the field in the first half, including 2-for-17 from 3-point range. New Mexico dictated the pace, even with Mashburn on the bench, and a 20-3 run gave the Lobos a 37-19 halftime lead.

After settling for too many 3-pointers in the first half, UNLV attacked the basket after the break. The Rebels only had eight points in the paint before the break, but scored 20 points in the key during the second half. Scoring around the rim helped free up UNLV’s looks from beyond the arc. Hamilton, in particular, put pressure on the rim and fought his way to the free-throw line to help the Rebels drag themselves back into the game.

UNLV also got its scoring spark from Webster off the bench. He hit 3-pointers on consecutive posessions and made a free throw as part of a 9-0 run. The Rebels also started to match the Lobos’ pace, pushing in transition to find open looks and scoring 13 fastbreak points to erase the deficit.

Mashburn cooled off in the second half, giving UNLV a chance, but New Mexico junior Jaelen House stepped up in his place. With UNLV missing junior forward Victor Iwuakor, the team’s most mobile defensive forward who aggravated a shoulder injury, and freshman guard Keshon Gilbert, who fouled out early in the second half, House slithered into the paint almost every posession for layups or free throws, closing out the game for New Mexico.

“He’s the type of guy who’s going to get confidence,” Kruger said. “He walks into the game confident, but you have to show guys like that they’re going to have to earn every single bucket, whether they make them or not. I thought tonight, we just kind of gave him too many good looks, too many free throws.”

UNLV will now prepare for the Mountain West tournament in which the Rebels will be the No. 5 seed. They will get a first-round bye and play No. 4 seed Wyoming in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels beat the Cowboys 64-57 on March 2, the team’s only meeting this season.

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