Blog: Rebels hit from outside, pull away for win over Western Kentucky

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 3:37 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 7:23 p.m.

UNLV got hot from outside down the stretch, with Jalen Poyser, Uche Ofoegbu and Tyrell Green all hitting big 3-pointers to help the Rebels pull away from Western Kentucky for a 71-61 win.

Poyser went 6-of-11 from 3-point range on the night and finished with 22 points and nine assists. Green hit 5-of-6 from deep and finished with a game-high 23 points.

Dwayne Morgan managed to tip-toe through the final nine minutes of play despite being saddled with four fouls, and the junior forward made some key plays under the basket, totaling eight points and six rebounds while playing solid defense in the middle of UNLV's 2-3 zone.

UNLV improves to 4-2 with the win. They'll travel to Southern Utah to face former interim coach Todd Simon on Wednesday.

Poyser stays hot, keeps Rebels alive

Western Kentucky ripped off an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead midway through the second half, but Jalen Poyser's sixth 3-pointer of the game (and 10th over the last two games) has tied things at 52-52 with 6:55 remaining. Poyser now has a game-high 18 points, all from the beyond the arc (6-of-11).

Poyser looks comfortable finding cracks in the Western Kentucky zone and letting it fly. UNLV just has to hope he stays hot.

Rebels battling through foul trouble

UNLV has opened up a 46-38 lead with 11:56 remaining thanks to back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from Uche Ofoegbu, Jovan Mooring and Jalen Poyser. It's UNLV's biggest lead of the second half, but there's still a lot of time left and depth is going to become a problem for the Rebels at some point.

The frontcourt situation is becoming untenable as we head down the stretch. Dwayne Morgan picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half, and Troy Baxter has three personals. The Rebels have gone to a zone defense of their own in an attempt to protect their foul-prone big men, but it's going to be an issue going forward. For now, Ben Coupet is playing in the middle of UNLV's 2-3 alignment.

Can the Rebels hang on despite the personnel shortcomings? If Poyser and Tyrell Green keep shooting straight (15 points apiece), they'll have a chance.

Rebels facing zone issues again

Apparently, 20 hours isn't enough time to install a zone offense.

Much like yesterday's game, this one turned midway through the first half when Western Kentucky went to a 2-3 zone defense. UNLV had built an early 10-point lead, but the Rebels struggled to generate open shots against the zone and Western Kentucky ended the half on an 11-5 run to claim a 30-28 lead at the break.

Western Kentucky hit seven of its last eight shots from the field, and it could have been even worse for the Rebels if Anton Waters' halfcourt heave at the buzzer had counted. After initially counting it, the refs waved it off after reviewing the video.

Outside shooting from Jalen Poyser and Tyrell Green is keeping the Rebels within striking distance. The two have combined for 22 of UNLV's 28 points while making 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

As it stands now, the Rebels find themselves in a very similar position to yesterday, trailing in a tight game and having issues finding cracks in the zone defense. Will execution doom UNLV again? Let's see if Menzies can whip up a counter to the 2-3 zone in the second half.

Green starts strong, shoots Rebels to early lead

Tyrell Green has single-handedly gotten UNLV off to another fast start, as the senior forward made a couple 3-pointers and a fast-break layup to give UNLV an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes. Green now has 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and the Rebels are up, 18-8, with 7:14 remaining in the half.

In an interesting wrinkle, WKU responded to UNLV's early spurt by going to a zone defense. TCU flummoxed the Rebels with an aggressive 2-3 zone last night, and WKU is trying to emulate that, despite the fact that the Hilltoppers had played man-to-man on 93 percent of their defensive possessions through the first five games.

Jalen Poyser hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to beat the zone, and WKU went back to man defense on the next possession. For now, the Rebels seem to have a plan of attack that is working.

Quick turnaround for UNLV vs. Western Kentucky

Less than 20 hours after dropping a tough, physical game against TCU, the Rebels will have to rev up and do it all over again, this time facing Western Kentucky in the consolation game of the Global Sports Classic.

The quick turnaround won't make things easy on UNLV, which is dealing with an injury crisis in the frontcourt. Christian Jones and Cheickna Dembele are both out for the foreseeable future, so coach Marvin Menzies will once again have to turn to junior Dwayne Morgan and freshman Troy Baxter to do the bulk of the heavy lifting up front. Both battled foul trouble Friday against TCU, but with no other options besides freshman big man Djordjije Sljivancanin, the Rebels are going to have to embrace small ball and make it work somehow.

Like UNLV, Western Kentucky currently sits at 3-2 after getting blown out by Washington on Friday. The Hilltoppers have struggled offensively this season, ranking 296th in the nation in field goal percentage, but they do shoot 3-pointers at a respectable rate (37.3 percent), so limiting shooters will be a key for UNLV. On the other end of the court, Western Kentucky is also susceptible to dribble penetration, which could give sophomore Jalen Poyser and junior Jovan Mooring a chance to get into the lane and create.

Western Kentucky does have some size inside, including 6-foot-7, 245-pound senior forward Anton Waters. Morgan has had issues defending bigger, more physical players, so this will be an individual matchup to watch.

Mike's prediction: UNLV 69, Western Kentucky 63. The good Dwayne Morgan shows up again and UNLV makes just enough outside shots to get the win.