Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Live blog: SMU holds off UNLV, 72-68

1120_sun_UNLVTexasState11

Steve Marcus

Runnin’ Rebels head coach T. J. Otzelberger calls out to players during a game against Texas State at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 | 9:39 p.m.

UNLV went almost six minutes without a field goal down the stretch, and SMU made its free throws in the final minutes to secure a 72-68 victory over the Rebels.

Amauri Hardy shot 4-of-16 on the night, and UNLV simply can't survive that kind of game from their leading scorer. Hardy did make some clutch shots in the second half, but it was too little, too late.

Bryce Hamilton stepped up with 18 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

UNLV is now 2-5 under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, with the next game set for Tuesday against Jackson State.

SMU leads UNLV late in second half

The Rebels might have missed their chance.

With all the momentum on their side, they trimmed the SMU lead to two points and had a couple of great looks at the basket. First Amauri Hardy rimmed out a driving floater; after an offensive rebound, Hardy got a good look at a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but that shot circled the rim before bouncing out as well.

SMU has scored five straight points since then to push the lead back to 65-58 with 2:32 to play. The Mustangs will shoot one free throw after the timeout.

If UNLV has another run in them, it has to come now, or else the Rebels are minutes away from a loss and a 2-5 start to the season.

UNLV trims SMU lead to five points in second half

UNLV has picked it up on the defensive end in the second half, and Amauri Hardy just hit a long 3-pointer to trim SMU's lead to 48-43 with 10:58 to play.

Hardy had been 1-of-11 before drilling a catch-and-shoot triple from the right wing. The shot came off a dribble-drive by Donnie Tillman and counted as Tillman's team-high third assist.

SMU is 4-of-9 from the field with four turnovers in the second half. UNLV trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Rebels continue to chip away.

Another slow start for UNLV offense; Rebels trail SMU at half

Offense continues to be a problem for UNLV, as the Rebels shot 29.6 percent in the first half and find themselves trailing SMU at halftime, 38-28.

The Rebels were especially bad from long distance, hitting 4-of-17 from 3-point range, but the offense as a whole looked out of sync. Some of that was due to Amauri Hardy only playing 11 minutes due to foul trouble, and the rest was the team's inability to figure out the SMU defense.

On the other end of the floor, the Mustangs have been more athletic than UNLV. That has led to drives, offensive rebounds and dunks; SMU shot 48.3 percent in the first half.

SMU forward Feron Hunt has a game-high 11 points, while teammate Kendric Davis has 10.

SMU leads UNLV early in first half

SMU is determined to play this game at a slow pace, but the Rebels have found a handful of opportunities to get into the open court, and with 9:11 remaining in the first half the Mustangs have an 18-16 lead.

The big news for the Rebels, however, is that leading scorer Amauri Hardy picked two early fouls and has gone to the bench. Marvin Coleman is on the floor now along with Bryce Hamilton in the backcourt.

Donnie Tillman has drilled a couple 3-pointers to lead UNLV with six points. As a team, the Rebels are 28.6 percent.

UNLV basketball set to tip off against SMU

UNLV football just wrapped up its most exciting game of the season. Now, can the UNLV basketball team follow it?

The Runnin' Rebels are set to tip off against SMU at 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center, and head coach T.J. Otzelberger would love to grab this one.

The early schedule hasn't been kind to the Rebels, who are 2-4 after dropping Wednesday's home game to Texas State. That game was a grind-it-out affair, and that's definitely not how Otzelberger wants his team to play.

Look for guards Amauri Hardy and Elijah Mitrou-Long to try and set a fast pace in this game by pushing the ball across halfcourt quickly. Whether that leads to fast-break opportunities or not, it's something that Hardy admitted the team has gotten away from in the first six games.

It won't be an easy task. SMU (4-0) is another staunch defensive team, and the Mustangs like to slow things down under head coach Tim Jankovich. SMU is currently ranked No. 314 in adjusted tempo, and opposing teams are shooting just 37.5 percent against them.

Rebels win wild one to close out Sam Boyd Stadium

Charles Williams scored on a 1-yard touchdown to give UNLV the lead with 1:15 to play, and Kolo Uasike corralled a game-sealing interception on the goal line with 0:06 to play to give the Rebels a 38-35 win in the final game in Sam Boyd Stadium.

Kenyon Oblad engineered the go-ahead drive, highlighted by a 38-yard completion to Randal Grimes to set up Williams' touchdown. San Jose State started the ensuing drive with an 80-yard bomb from Josh Love to Isaiah Hamilton to move the ball deep into UNLV territory, and the Spartans eventually found themselves facing a third-and-five at the UNLV 5-yard line. Love's pass was tipped in the air, and Uasike turned and snagged it.

The UNLV sideline flooded onto the field after the play, and Oblad took a knee to run out the final six seconds in Sam Boyd history.

UNLV is now 3-8 on the season, with a trip to UNR looming next week in the season finale.

Oblad finished 21-of-36 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams ran 27 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

San Jose State takes lead again with six minutes to play

The final UNLV game at Sam Boyd Stadium may end up being one of the best.

San Jose State receiver Tre Walker just made a spectacular, 50-yard touchdown catch to give the Spartans a 35-31 lead with 6:17 to play. It was our third lead change of the fourth quarter, and there could be more ahead.

Charles Williams just scored on a 4-yard run to give UNLV a 31-28 lead with nine minutes to play, and Williams took the handoff from former starter Armani Rogers after Kenyon Oblad was knocked out by a hard hit the play before. San Jose State answered with Walker's catch, and now we'll have to see if it's Rogers or Oblad for UNLV's next drive.

Rogers came in for two plays and handed off on both. Oblad is 16-of-29 for 145 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

San Jose State takes fourth-quarter lead over UNLV

UNLV miscues have led directly to back-to-back touchdowns for San Jose State, and the Spartans have now taken an unlikely 28-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Kenyon Oblad completed a pass over the middle to Darren Woods, but a SJSU defensive back ripped the ball out of his hands for an interception. Granted field position deep in UNLV territory, the Spartans scored three plays later on a trick throwback to offensive tackle Jack Snyder.

On the ensuing kickoff, UNLV return man Jericho Flowers called for a fair catch but muffed the catch, pinning the Rebels at their own 3-yard line. The Rebels went 3-and-out, and San Jose State scored a lucky TD on the next play when Josh Love hit Bailey Gaither for a 25-yard gain down to the goal line; Gaither fumbled before being tackled, and SJSU Brett Foley plucked the ball out of the air and walked into the end zone to give San Jose State its first lead of the day.

Gutierrez kick gives UNLV 24-14 lead over SJSU

San Jose State scored a touchdown early in the third quarter to pull within seven points, but Daniel Gutierrez just nailed a career-long field goal to put UNLV ahead, 24-14, with 7:05 left in the quarter.

The old, bad UNLV defense reappeared for one play. Josh Love hit running back DeJon Packer with a short pass, and Packer ran through two arm tackles and broke into the open field for a 61-yard touchdown. The Rebels responded nicely, however, driving into Spartans territory to set up Gutierrez's 47-yard boot.

UNLV had gone three possessions without scoring before Gutierrez split the uprights.

UNLV leads San Jose State at half, 21-6

UNLV came up empty on its final two drives of the half, but the Rebels will still head into the break with a 21-6 lead over San Jose State.

The Rebels advanced across midfield on each of the final two possessions, but a false start short-circuited the first drive and a failed wildcat run on fourth down finished the most recent drive. Still, it was a good half of football from the UNLV offense, as Kenyon Oblad completed 10-of-14 for 99 yards and two touchdowns while Charles Williams ran for 98 yards and a TD on nine carries. The Rebels did not commit a turnover.

On defense, UNLV definitely played its best half of the season, as they forced three turnovers and held San Jose State to just one scoring drive. Javin White, Jericho Flowers and Jalen Graves all have interceptions.

Can UNLV sustain that kind of intensity for another 30 minutes? The Rebels have a real chance to head into next week's season finale at UNR with some momentum.

Rebels open 21-6 lead over San Jose State

With the way UNLV has started this game, the Rebels might want to consider staying at Sam Boyd Stadium for another year or two.

Kenyon Oblad just hit Randal Grimes for a 35-yard touchdown to extend UNLV's lead over San Jose State to 21-6 with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

The usually porous UNLV defense has already forced two turnovers, and the Rebels' offense then turned them both into touchdowns. After defensive lineman Jalen Graves came up with a batted-ball interception, Oblad found freshman tight end Shelton Zeon for a short touchdown to make it 14-6. On SJSU's next drive, it was linebacker Javin White who intercepted a tipped pass to get Oblad back on the field. That's when the redshirt freshman hit Grimes streaking down the sideline for the TD.

Oblad is now 6-of-7 for 83 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Charles Williams has rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

UNLV football takes early lead over San Jose State

The final UNLV game at Sam Boyd Stadium saw the Rebels get off to a good start, and with 3:51 left in the first quarter the home team leads, 7-6.

San Jose State took the opening kickoff downfield deep into UNLV territory, but the Rebels' defense held and forced a missed field goal. From there it took the UNLV offense just four plays to turn it into points, as Charles Williams busted off a 51-yard run to get the Rebels into the red zone, then Williams blasted across the goal line from 12 yards out to make it 7-0.

San Jose State had more success on its ensuing drive, and DeJon Packer plunged in from the 1-yard line to put the Spartans on the board. The PAT missed, however, so UNLV still holds the slimmest of leads for now.

Rebels ready for final game at Sam Boyd Stadium

UNLV will take the field at home for the final time this season today, and it will also be the final time the Rebels will play at Sam Boyd Stadium. The team will leave their home for the last 49 years when they move into Allegiant Stadium in 2020, so one of the season's biggest crowds is expected to watch the Rebels take on San Jose State.

Three keys to watch.

Play for something

Is this a trap game? Is there such a thing as a trap game for a 2-8 team?

It's no secret that UNLV has very little to play for at this point in the season. Their longstanding bowl hopes were extinguished weeks ago, and head coach Tony Sanchez is likely to be dismissed after the season. And yet, the Rebels put up an effort last week that was more than credible, pushing Hawaii for most of the game in a 21-7 defeat.

Did the team empty its reserves of fighting spirit in that game? With the season finale at UNR looming next week, it would be easy for the players to write off this game and focus all their effort on the upcoming battle to keep the Fremont Cannon.

Sanchez addressed that in his weekly press conference and seemed confident that his players would leave it all on the field this week.

"This is going to be another winnable game, like last Saturday was," Sanchez said. "We're going to have to do a great job this week with our preparation and getting ready for these guys and just be fundamentally sound and go out there and play with a bunch of energy."

Create big plays

When Armani Rogers was under center, the Rebels were enthusiastic about chucking the ball downfield at every opportunity. Since the coaches gave the keys to redshirt freshman Kenyon Oblad, however, those deep shots have become more rare.

Sanchez said that being too conservative on first and second down has put the Rebels in some inconvenient offensive situations in recent weeks. He thinks loosening up the defense with some deep balls could help Oblad and lead to more points.

"I think we can do a better job of calling it and giving him better opportunities," Sanchez said. "I think one of the things we have to do more is take shots. I don't think we're aggressive enough. Honestly we've been pretty conservative and I don't know if it has boded well for us."

Farewell Sam Boyd Stadium

If there was ever any magic in Sam Boyd Stadium, the Rebels are hoping it reveals itself today. The final game at the venerable venue will come with all the pageantry the program can pull from its 49 years at SBS, including a ceremony that will include as many former players and coaches who can make it to Las Vegas.

Junior running back Charles Williams said the players understand the moment.

"This is the last game and I'm expecting a lot of people to come because this is the last time the Rebels are going to be playing football there," Williams said. "We're going to put up a good show. It's a farewell, but we're going to put on a good show where everybody's going to enjoy and have a great memory about the Rebels and Sam Boyd Stadium for the last time."

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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