UNLV stays the course in comeback win over High Point

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 | 9:57 p.m.

For the second straight contest, UNLV found itself trailing at the half.

For the second straight contest, Kevin Kruger’s crew remained calm, recommitted themselves to the game plan and steadily pulled ahead for a comeback win at the Thomas & Mack Center, this time over High Point, 78-68.

The Scarlet and Gray are now 4-0 on the season, and like Tuesday’s win over No. 21 Dayton, they can attribute the latest victory to their steely hand over the final 20 minutes.

UNLV opened Friday’s game ice-cold, missing 11 of the first 12 attempts from 3-point range, while allowing high-powered High Point to grab a 36-33 lead at the break. Instead of being discouraged by their wayward shooting, however, the team rallied behind their commitment to defense and began the comeback by putting the clamps on High Point.

UNLV held High Point to 31% shooting in the second half and completely shut down the paint, limiting the Panthers to just three 2-point field goals during that span (3-of-13).

And wouldn’t you know it, the Scarlet and Gray offense eventually came around. E.J. Harkless hit three 3-pointers in the second half, six players finished in double figures and UNLV ended up with a comfortable win.

Forward Luis Rodriguez was a catalyst on both ends of the floor, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.

The fifth-year senior said he and his veteran teammates understand the value of staying composed.

“We all play basketball and have been doing it for a long time,” Rodriguez said. “We know that it’s a long game and it’s a lot of time to play through mistakes, play through missed shots. So we try to tell each other every game, even if we’re losing and it’s not going how we want to, keep playing hard. And if we do what we’ve got to do, the results will show at the end.”

Harkless and sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert took over on offense, combining for 26 points and 15 assists. Senior center David Muoka tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, and senior guard Eli Parquet chipped in 11 points. Sophomore Jackie Johnson energized the comeback with 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

Gilbert hit a 3-pointer four minutes into the second half to spark a UNLV run. Justin Webster followed with an and-1 layup, and Harkles and Johnson connected on back-to-back 3’s to make it a 12-0 spurt, putting the Scarlet and Gray ahead, 49-42.

It was a similar blueprint as UNLV’s win over Dayton, when Kruger’s squad trailed at halftime but used tough defense and hot 3-point shooting to claw ahead for a 60-52 victory.

High Point came into the game averaging 100 points per game and knocked down 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, but UNLV remained patient, put in work on the defensive end and gradually erased the halftime deficit.

With UNLV’s defense-first mindset, it’s likely that a lot of games are going to play out in similar fashion this season. Kruger will need his players to continue grinding through offensive slumps, confident that the plan will work.

Through four games, it has.

“With as many games as E.J., E.P., Lu, Vic, have played in their career,” Kruger said, “there’s really no reason for them to go in there at halftime and think anything other than they’re going to correct what they need to correct, tighten things up and have a much better second half.”

UNLV will have the weekend off before traveling to San Juan Capistrano for the SoCal Challenge with games on Monday and Wednesday.

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