The UNLV men’s basketball team proved Saturday that its last upset win wasn’t a fluke.
After the Rebels handed No. 22 Utah State its first loss in Mountain West play on Wednesday, Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun said his team played poorly and still “should have won,” even with three of his players being sick.
But with a 76-68 triumph against San Diego State at Viejas Arena, UNLV (11-7, 5-2 Mountain West) secured another significant win in case there was any doubt about the quality of the 65-62 victory over Utah State.
Fourth-year UNLV coach Kevin Kruger offered a fiery reminder that he and his team heard all of the noise that came after back-to-back blowout road losses to Boise State and Colorado State before this two-game win streak.
“To put up with what they put up with after the week of Colorado State and Boise, to come back with two huge wins, they deserve it,” Kruger said in a postgame radio interview. “They’ve earned it. I’m happy for them. I want them to carry a little bit of an edge and a chip on their shoulder, because there was a lot of things said, and I hope they remember it. I hope they play with that edge. I hope they hate everybody and play like we did today.”
It was only the Rebels’ second win against San Diego State (11-5, 4-3) since 2018, and it avenged a 74-71 overtime loss to the Aztecs in the quarterfinals of last year’s Mountain West tournament.
Point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV with 19 points and five assists. Brooklyn Hicks and Jaden Henley added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Miles Byrd led a late push for the Aztecs by scoring all of his 21 points in the second half, but the Rebels were able to hold on after building a 31-23 advantage at halftime.
Better ‘flow’
Kruger described the performance as an improved “offensive-defensive flow.”
That showed in the box score, as the Rebels held San Diego State to 40 percent shooting from the field, 32 percent from 3 (9-for-28) and won the rebounding battle 37-32.
“The message going into today was take (the effort for) Utah State and put it on steroids,” Kruger said.
For Thomas, the intensity from his teammates was nothing short of the expectation.
“They understood what type of game this was. Coach really drilled it into their head,” he said. “Just come in with that mentality that we we were coming here to win, nothing else was acceptable.”
There were seven lead changes in the first half, but the game’s most significant stretches didn’t take place until midway through the second half.
UNLV didn’t score from the field for more than three minutes until Julian Rishwain connected for a long 3-pointer.
The Aztecs were even slower to start, opening 0-for-4 from the field as UNLV got off to a 6-2 lead in the first six minutes.
It was an even battle from then, with UNLV ahead 18-17 after 15 minutes. Hicks and Jailen Bedford shined off the bench once again as the Rebels went on a 7-0 run en route to a 27-18 lead with four minutes remaining in the half.
They both had eight points at halftime, combining for 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 16 bench points at that point. Bedford and Hicks were also crucial in the effort to hold Byrd scoreless in the half.
When asked which Rebels stood out, Thomas was quick to answer.
“Definitely Brooklyn, just doing the little things he always does,” Thomas said. “I feel like everyone contributed.”
Lob to Cherry
Things got interesting midway through the second half. With 10 minutes left to play, San Diego State went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 51-48.
UNLV later had to call a timeout after a 3-pointer from Byrd brought the Aztecs within four points with less than two minutes left to play.
A big dunk from Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry assisted by Thomas increased the Rebels’ lead to 69-63 in response, but Byrd scored in the paint to make it a four-point game again.
Kruger and Thomas both called the lob to Cherry as pivotal play, with Thomas saying it “started to get everyone going again.”
“It was really great to see, because when things work and they execute and make plays for each other, the confidence builds,” Kruger said.
Thomas made another drive for a turnaround jumper to give the Rebels some breathing room at 71-65 and ended up at the free-throw line twice in the final 40 seconds, making all four of his late attempts to seal it.
Despite the rarity of winning on the road against the Aztecs, Kruger didn’t place much sentimental value on the victory.
“It means we got another win,” he said. “We had a pretty good few minutes of fun and celebration, but I told them the reward is that now we got another tough one.”
The Rebels next return home to host Wyoming (9-9, 2-5) at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Contact Callie Fin at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
