Live coverage: No. 2 UCLA shuts down UNLV, 73-51

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 | noon

Updated Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 | 3:57 p.m.

UNLV was able to get within single digits midway through the second half, but there just wasn't enough firepower to sustain a comeback attempt as No. 2 UCLA pulled away for a 73-51 win.

Four Bruins finished in double figures, led by Jules Bernard (18 points) and Tyger Campbell (13 points).

It was another ugly offensive performance for UNLV, which shot 30.4 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from 3-point range (6-of-27). The scarlet and gray endured a scoreless drought of nearly seven minutes in the second half, which is becoming a theme this season.

UNLV is now 4-3 on the season with road games at SMU and San Francisco next week.

Hamm to the bench; UCLA leads UNLV, 48-37

UNLV is trying to put a dent in UCLA's lead, but it's an uphill battle. With 11:42 remaining, the Bruins are still holding a relatively comfortable 48-37 lead.

UCLA pushed its lead as high as 15 points, but Royce Hamm hit a 3 and Josh Baker scored an iso bucket to get the deficit down to nine points. Johnny Juzang followed with a pull-up jumper to restore UCLA's lead to double digits.

In a major development, Hamm picked up his fourth foul a moment ago while battling for a rebound and has exited the game. Hamm has six points and three rebounds today; let's see how long Kevin Kruger keeps him on the bench, especially if UCLA begins to pull away.

UNLV trails No. 2 UCLA at half

Every UNLV bucket was hard to come by in the first half, and after 20 minutes at the Thomas & Mack Center No. 2 UCLA has a 37-22 lead.

Kevin Kruger tried a little bit of everything to get his team going. He inserted Marvin Coleman for a couple minutes, and the senior guard provided a spark. Then he tried pairing Royce Hamm and David Muoka in a two-big lineup, and that didn't go so well as UCLA canned back-to-back 3-pointers.

Bryce Hamilton has been the lone consistent threat for the scarlet and gray as the senior guard made 4-of-10 shots on his way to a team-high nine points. They're going to need more production throughout the lineup if they want to mount a second-half comeback against one of the country's elite defensive units.

UNLV will also have to figure out a way to slow down UCLA guard Johnny Juzang, who breezed his way to an easy 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

No. 2 UCLA leads UNLV, 31-20

UNLV is grinding through some tough offensive stretches, and with 3:37 left in the first half UCLA has pushed its lead to 31-20.

It's been a challenge for UNLV to create open looks, as UCLA has walled off the paint and forced the home team to rely exclusively on jumpers. Bryce Hamilton has drawn extra attention from the Bruins defense and has managed to make 3-of-7 shots for seven points, but overall UNLV has been unable to find a rhythm yet, shooting 32.0 percent as a team.

Guards Jordan McCabe and Donovan Williams have combined to make 2-of-10 from the field.

UCLA is having success working the ball inside against UNLV's smaller defenders, isolating Hamilton and McCabe in the post and attacking them. The Bruins have made 52.6 percent of their shots, led by Jules Bernard's nine points.

No. 2 UCLA takes early lead over UNLV

UCLA is playing up to its defensive reputation so far, and the Bruins have a 15-5 lead with 13:48 left in the first half.

UNLV made just one of its first eight shots and missed seven in a row until Donovan Williams just sank a wing 3-pointer to snap that streak. Other than Williams' catch-and-shoot triple, open shots have been nonexistent for the scarlet and gray, as UCLA is smother all penetration attempts by Bryce Hamilton and Jordan McCabe.

On the other end, Jules Bernard has a pair of 3's to lead the Bruins with six points.

UNLV basketball hosts No. 2 UCLA

Are you ready for the biggest game of the year for UNLV basketball?

The scarlet and gray welcome No. 2 UCLA to the Thomas & Mack Center today (2 p.m., Stadium), and between the elite competition and the halftime jersey retirement ceremony honoring Freddie Banks, this is shaping up to be quite an event.

Three keys for UNLV:

Keep Hamm on the court

UNLV is extremely thin in the frontcourt, with senior Royce Hamm providing the only real rim protection on defense (1.8 blocks per game). That’s an issue because Hamm has flirted with foul trouble several times this season, including two games in which he picked up four personals and had to have his minutes limited.

UCLA ranks No. 75 in the country in ratio of shots that come around the rim, so Hamm realizes how crucial it is for him to serve as the last line of defense.

The senior said he is working on anticipating plays in order to be in better position to defend while avoiding unnecessary fouls.

“It’s definitely something that I focus on just because I play so hard,” Hamm said. “I think sometimes I tend to get myself out of position a little bit just from moving too much. I’m so help-oriented when it comes to my team, just because I’m the last line of defense. Sometimes [now] I try to make sure I’m in position and think ahead of time to help me not get in foul trouble.”

Efficient Bryce

The season schedule is 20-percent complete, so we have a pretty decent idea of the type of team UNLV is going to be this year. And they look like a crew that is going to struggle to score at times, as evidenced by their ill-timed 10-minute field goal drought down the stretch in a 1-point loss to Wichita State.

UCLA isn’t an elite defensive team (not yet, anyway—give Mick Cronin some time and the Bruins will surely round into form on that end of the floor), but odds are UNLV will experience another tough time putting the ball through the hoop at some point Saturday. That’s when they’ll need their best offensive player, senior guard Bryce Hamilton, to step up.

Hamilton has produced this season, averaging 18 points per game, but he has needed a lot of shots to reach that number; he is shooting just 37.9 percent, which is below the team’s overall rate of 41.9 percent.

It’s difficult to envision UNLV threatening an upset without Hamilton making at least half his shots. The scarlet and gray are going to need their best player to come through, especially when buckets are (inevitably) hard to come by.

Tough stretch

Today kicks off UNLV’s toughest three-game stretch of the year; after hosting UCLA today, Kruger will take his team on the road for games at SMU (Wednesday) and at San Francisco (Dec. 4). UCLA is obviously a title contender, while SMU and San Francisco are comfortably inside the KenPom Top 100.

Now, UNLV probably doesn’t have much chance of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament this year, so it’s not crucial that they win these games, but they really want to prove they can beat a strong non-conference team after losing to Michigan and Wichita State last week.

What: UNLV (4-2) vs. UCLA (5-1)

Where: Thomas & Mack Center

When: 2 p.m.

TV: Stadium

Line: UCLA -10

UNLV leaders

Bryce Hamilton, 18.0 points per game

Royce Hamm, 12.8 rebounds per game

Jordan McCabe, 3.7 assists per game

UCLA leaders

Johnny Juzang, 18.3 points per game

Jaime Jaquez, 7.3 rebounds per game

Tyger Campbell, 4.2 assists per game

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