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UNLV needs to stay focused after upsetting No. 21 Dayton

Updated November 17, 2022 - 7:38 pm

UNLV coach Kevin Kruger wanted the Rebels to learn a valuable lesson from Monday’s 60-52 win over No. 21 Dayton. It has nothing to do with defensive rotations, shot selection or anything the Rebels did on the court and won’t be revealed until they play host to High Point on Friday night.

Kruger wants to see how his team responds to success. He said he needs to know if his players are capable of winning, enjoying their victory and moving forward with the same focus and determination which helped them upset the Flyers on Monday night.

“I think it will be a great challenge for us, to learn about ourselves, a little bit, about how we react to a big win,” Kruger said after Monday’s game. “Because with this group, I’m hoping and don’t feel that it’s going to be the last one.”

Kruger will get his answer at 7 p.m. Friday at the Thomas &Mack Center. Led by their defense, the Rebels have a chance to continue their undefeated start to the season before hitting the road for the first time next week.

“We’ve got to continue to, in my opinion, be the harder-playing team,” Kruger said Thursday. “That’s the reason we’re 3-0 right now.”

This UNLV team may be full of new faces, but the group’s veteran leadership wants to make sure the Rebels keep their heads down. Fifth-year guards EJ Harkless and Elijah Parquet have NCAA Tournament experience at Oklahoma and Colorado, respectively. Both players mentioned consistency among the most important traits teams need to succeed.

It doesn’t mean the Rebels didn’t celebrate their win against the Flyers. A video posted to the team’s social media accounts showed the players showering Kruger with water as he entered the locker room after Monday’s game before celebrating together.

“I think we all felt we took a big step forward as a team, as a program,” Harkless said.

Kruger and Harkless said the excitement of victory already has passed. Even immediately after the game, Harkless said the team was focused on where it was going to make adjustments.

Kruger added all of his players continued to follow their normal routines during the two days after Monday’s win without any reminders from the team’s coaching and training staff.

UNLV will need to bring its best defense Friday. High Point of the Big South Conference boasts one of the best scoring offenses in Division I basketball. The Panthers (3-0) average 100 points per game, sixth best in the country, and on par with teams like No. 5 Baylor and No. 14 Arizona.

Junior guard Jaden House is averaging 26 points per game on 62.5 percent shooting. Sophomore guard Abdoulaye Thiam is second on the team in scoring (17 ppg) and has made 52.9 percent of his 3-point attempts, while sophomore forward Zack Austin adds 15.7 points per game. The Panthers have scored at least 100 points in two of their first three games.

“There’s no rush like winning a big game, but you wake up the next morning and it truly is over,” Kruger said. “You get in your car to go home and it feels really good, but immediately it hits you pretty quickly that it’s time to get ready for High Point.”

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

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