Rebels zone out in 69-54 loss at Utah State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020 | 10:20 p.m.

Marvin Coleman and Bryce Hamilton scored consecutive transition layups to push UNLV’s lead to 35-27 early in the second half of Wednesday’s game at Utah State, and at that point it looked like the Rebels had a real chance to score a big win in hostile territory.

Then Utah State switched to a zone defense, and the Rebels staggered to the finish line in a 69-54 loss that turned as quickly and as sharply as any contest this season.

It was the fourth straight defeat for UNLV, which is now 6-5 in Mountain West play and 11-13 overall.

After a very physical first half that saw both teams bang bodies in the paint with impunity, UNLV bruised its way to a 29-27 lead at the break. A 6-0 surge to start the second half pushed the advantage to eight points, until Utah State coach Craig Smith called timeout and went to a 1-3-1 defensive alignment.

UNLV was running in quicksand from that point on. The Rebels made just 8-of-26 shots in the second half (30.8 percent) while committing nine turnovers, a stretch of offensive stagnation that allowed Utah State (18-7, 7-5 MWC) to catch up and fly past the Rebels on the scoreboard and ultimately in the conference standings.

Sam Merrill jump-started the Utah State offense from the free-throw line, hitting four in a row to give the Aggies a 46-44 lead midway through the second half. That got the senior guard going, as he scored eight more points down the stretch and finished with 20 on 5-of-14 shooting.

From the time Utah State first went to a zone defense, the Aggies outscored UNLV 40-19.

UNLV guard Elijah Mitrou-Long had the most success against the zone, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, but there just wasn’t enough firepower to keep the Rebels in the game.

Mitrou-Long, a fifth-year senior, said Utah State actually switched between a 1-3-1 zone and a 2-3 zone depending on the possession and that UNLV did not handle it well.

“It’s hard because sometimes you’re bringing up the ball and you think they’re in a 1-3-1 or the 2-3, so it takes some time,” Mitrou-Long said. “We have to think about which zone they’re in and think on the fly.”

Hamilton, who came into the game as the Mountain West’s second-leading scorer at 22.8 points per game in conference play, was held to just 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Amauri Hardy needed 12 shots to score 10 points (3-of-12 field goals). No one else reached double figures.

UNLV is not a greatly talented offensive team this season, so head coach T.J. Otzelberger has tried to juice the attack by emphasizing two things: transition points and second-chance points. The Rebels got very little of either on Wednesday, finishing with six fast-break points and four points off offensive rebounds.

Otzelberger said UNLV’s defensive struggles made it even more difficult to score. Utah State shot 50.0 percent for the game (24-of-48) and 54.2 percent in the second half.

“Even though their zones and switching defenses kept us off-balance, I still think it was the defensive side,” Otzelberger said. “When we’re getting stops and playing with pace it was allowing us to be successful. We weren’t able to maintain that consistency of getting stops down the stretch of that game.”

Mitrou-Long was the only player who had some success against the zone, as he scored all nine of his points in the second half. His final bucket came with 8:09 remaining, however, and the Rebels managed just six points the rest of the way.

”When we go on our runs where we’re up, we’re getting fast-break points, we’re getting stops,” Mitrou-Long said. “We didn’t get stops. That’s what hurt us, and then they went back to the zone.”

Utah State big man Neemias Queta was the deciding factor on the interior, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Queta dominated UNLV center Mbacke Diong straight up, limiting Diong to 2-of-9 shooting and three rebounds (none offensive).

When UNLV players did manage to penetrate the zone, Queta was there to block or deter shots around the rim. The Rebels made 7-of-11 shots at the rim in the first half; once Utah State went to the zone, UNLV converted just 5-of-16 layups in the second half.

The good news for UNLV is that the most difficult portion of the schedule is behind them. The Rebels have lost four straight to conference contenders, but the slate should be a little more forgiving the rest of the way, starting with Saturday’s home game against Fresno State (8-15, 4-8 MWC).

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