UNLV has already played 11 games. It’s preparing for its final non-conference matchup against Southern Miss Thursday before Mountain West play begins Dec. 28.
But for the first time, the Rebels have to prove they can respond after a loss.
A late collapse on Dec. 17th against San Francisco handed UNLV its first loss. The Dons ran off an 11-0 run over three minutes, capped by a 3 from Tyrell Roberts with six seconds remaining, to spoil the unbeaten start coach Kevin Kruger and the Rebels had built to start the season.
“We were just a half-step slow,” Kruger said, “a half-step behind, especially there at the finish.”
UNLV has a chance to get back in the win column at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Similarly to the Rebels, Southern Miss has only lost once, a two-point defeat away against Northwestern State Dec. 4. Southern Mississippi also beat Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt by 12 points early in the season.
“This is an awesome opportunity for us to play a team that’s playing as confident and together — you could make the argument — as anyone in the country,” Kruger said. “If you watch their games, they have fun, they’re making plays for each other. It’s a great test for us to finish out the non-conference (season).”
Fifth-year guard EJ Harkless, one of the team’s new veteran leaders after arriving from Oklahoma ahead of the season, believes UNLV has responded well in practice since the defeat to San Francisco.
It wasn’t a guarantee.
The fifth-year guard said this group simultaneously feels like an older and younger team. Many of the Rebels (10-1) are playing their fourth or fifth seasons of college basketball, but few have experience reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Harkless said injuries to fifth-year wing Elijah Parquet (knee) and sophomore forward Isaiah Cottrell (foot) — who’ve both been part of NCAA Tournament teams at Colorado and West Virginia, respectively — made Harkless unsure of how UNLV was going to respond to the setback.
Kruger said there are no updates for either players’ status ahead of the Southern Miss game.
UNLV missed Parquet, in particular, during Saturday’s collapse against San Francisco. Kruger felt the team did a good job filling in for the former Colorado wing for about 37 minutes, but Harkless admitted Parquet’s absence was noticeable all week and especially during the 11-0 run.
“We miss the guy, man,” Harkless said. “He’s super solid. He’s somebody that knows what he’s going to do, keeps everybody in line when they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do. WE can’t wait to get him back.”
Kruger attributed the loss to physical fatigue. Different substitution patterns forced by Parquet’s injury were complicated by a six-minute stretch with no whistles. Kruger also shortened the rotation, spreading Parquet’s minutes among his eight remaining contributors.
Despite the injuries and rotation changes, Harkless says the Rebels have to continue believing in the process which led them to their first 10-0 start since the 1990-91 season. They face a difficult test from the Golden Eagles (11-1).
“They’re not going to be scared of us,” Harkless said.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at [email protected]. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.
