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March 19, 2024

UNLV Basketball:

Blog: UNLV fends off New Mexico’s rallies for 76-68 road victory

UNLV Defeats New Mexico

Eric Draper / AP

UNLV guard Patrick McCaw dribbles past New Mexico’s Xavier Adams during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in Albuquerque.

Updated Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015 | 5:18 p.m.

UNLV Defeats New Mexico

New Mexico's Devon Williams, left, and Hugh Greenwood try to contain UNLV's Goodluck Okonoboh under the basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in Albuquerque. UNLV won 76-68. Launch slideshow »

UNLV 76, New Mexico 68

Game over

Pat McCaw poured in a career-high 22 points and UNLV never trailed in the second half while fending off New Mexico for a 76-68 victory today at The Pit.

UNLV showed no signs of the offense that struggled so much against Boise State. The Rebels were hot from the start and finished shooting 54 percent from the field while New Mexico's offense struggled the more the game went on, hitting only 34.6 percent in the second half.

Jelan Kendrick played one of his best games of the season, finishing with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting plus seven assists. As a team UNLV had 20 assists on 27 made baskets, one of its better performances in that category, which is coach Dave Rice's favorite, in a while.

Goodluck Okonoboh was probably UNLV's best player to start the game and he remained solid through out, pouring in 12 points, five blocks and four rebounds. This is UNLV's second true road victory of the season — the other was at UNR — and the Rebels are right back on the road Tuesday for a game at Utah State.

UNLV is now 15-12 overall and 6-8 in league play. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

The Rebel Room

The Tark episode

Las Vegas Sun sports editor Ray Brewer shares his memories of following Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV teams as a kid in Las Vegas and then Brewer and beat writer Taylor Bern get into the latest issues with this year's team and what to expect in Wednesday's game vs. Boise State.

To anyone who’s watched UNLV this season, this news will come as less than a shock, but the Rebels haven’t been very good in the first five minutes of the second half.

In Mountain West play, the Rebels have been outscored by 25 points during those times when adjustments and momentum are paramount. Against Division I competition this season, they’ve been outscored by 38.

The biggest negative scoring margin during those crucial minutes was last Wednesday against Boise State, when the Broncos turned a five-point halftime deficit into a three-point lead on their way to a 53-48 victory. Not being ready to go out of halftime has undone a lot of good work UNLV has done in the first half, and it’s something that the Rebels will need to improve on to avoid a sub.-500 finish this season.

That starts today at The Pit* when UNLV tips off against New Mexico at 3 p.m. Las Vegas time. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

*Since The Pit was never the official name anyway, it was University Arena, I see no reason to start calling it WisePies Arena.

I often see the poor second-half starts attributed to poor coaching, and it’s hard to argue. As much as coach Dave Rice insists his game plans are good, it’s on the coaches, and ultimately the head coach, to adjust when things go sideways.

After the Air Force loss, when the Falcons shot 9-of-13 from 3-point range over UNLV’s zone, Rice said he didn’t switch to man because the zone wasn’t the problem, it was just that the players didn’t execute what they were supposed to do. After the Boise State loss, he used the word “physical,” which is his code for "we got fouled," more than a dozen times during his postgame comments as a way of explaining why UNLV’s offense was so atrocious.

And he’s not necessarily wrong. The Rebels didn’t run the Falcons off the 3-point line and the refs did allow a lot of contact both ways in Wednesday’s game, but instead of throwing up your arms and complaining about it afterward, why not make in-game changes?

If they’re not executing in zone, maybe they’ll execute better in man. If the refs are allowing physical play, then adjust to what they’re calling.

I don’t like playing backseat coach largely because I know that everyone on the Rebels’ bench has forgotten more about basketball than I’ll ever know, but in the midst of a tough season, I’ve seen far too much passing the buck when we’ve seen for multiple seasons the players not play the way Rice says they’re supposed to. And ultimately, whose fault is that?

Bern’s prediction: Today, New Mexico is wearing pink jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit senior guard Hugh Greenwood’s Pink Pack charity, and despite the five-game losing streak the arena is expected to be near a sellout. With only one true road victory this season, it’s hard to have much confidence in the Rebels. New Mexico 63, UNLV 59

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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