Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Live blog: UNR routs UNLV, 87-70

UNLV VS UNR BB

Wade Vandervort

UNR forward Trey Porter (15) dunks the ball during a game against the UNLV Rebels at Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 | 10:09 p.m.

UNLV suffered through its worst shooting performance in more than a month, and UNR coasted to a convincing 87-70 victory at the Thomas & Mack Center. 

The Rebels, came into the game shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range in conference play, made just 7-of-26 from deep. Amauri Hardy, Noah Robotham and Joel Ntambwe combined to make just 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Caleb Martin had his way with the UNLV defense, scoring 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He made 4-of-7 from long distance. 

The loss drops UNLV to 11-9 on the season and 5-3 in Mountain West play. 

UNR dominating UNLV, up 22 in second half

Things haven't gotten any better for UNLV through the first eight minutes of the second half, and with 11:54 to play, UNR still has a 64-52 lead.

About the only good news for the Rebels is that they finally hit a 3-pointer, as Joel Ntambwe connected two minutes into the half to extend UNLV's streak to 1,059 consecutive games with a made 3-pointer. Ntambwe has eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and has struggled on the defensive end.

UNLV down 22 points to UNR at halftime

The first 20 minutes could not have gone any worse for Marvin Menzies' crew. The Rebels looked overmatched on both ends of the court, and UNR is up big at the half, 48-26.

The Rebels have been the best shooting team in the Mountain West during conference play, but they regressed hard in the first half, missing all 12 of their 3-point attempts. At the other end of the floor, UNR made 48.4 percent of its shots, including converting 9-of-13 on layups and dunks. Caleb Martin had his way with the UNLV defense, scoring 12 points on just five field goal attempts.

If the Rebels are going to get back into this game, they'll need to get insanely hot from beyond the arc, while at the same time hoping the UNR offense goes off the rails. It's an unlikely scenario, but it's only a 22-point deficit. After all, UNLV football trailed UNR by 23 points before storming back to win the Fremont Cannon a few months ago.

Amauri Hardy led UNLV with six points in the first half, though he went 0-of-3 from 3-point range.

UNR leads UNLV in first half, 23-16

Midway through the first half, UNLV is still hanging around despite an epic, team-wide cold stretch to start the game. The Rebels have missed their first 11 shots from 3-point range, but somehow UNR has only managed to build a 23-16 lead with 7:43 left in the half.

Kris Clyburn just missed the team's 11th 3-pointer (his third miss so far), but Mbacke Diong was fouled on the rebounding action, so UNLV will retain possession after the timeout.

UNR hasn't shot exceptionally well so far either, making just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Clyburn and Amauri Hardy have four points apiece to lead the Rebels.

UNR jumps out ahead of UNLV early

It's been less than five minutes, but it's already evident that UNR is going to have matchup advantages all over the court tonight. In the early going, the Wolf Pack pounded the ball into the post, feeding 6-foot-10 forward Trey Porter against UNLV wing Joel Ntambwe. Porter dunked on Ntambwe on the game's first possession, then drew two quick fouls on Ntambwe, forcing Marvin Menzies to remove him from the game.

UNR is up, 13-8, with 15:47 remaining, but UNLV is already treading in thin ice. The Pack is 4-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line; UNLV has only gotten one defensive stop so far.

Three keys for UNLV basketball vs. UNR

In what could very well be the single biggest game on UNLV’s schedule this season, the Rebels will host No. 8 UNR on Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center (8 p.m., ESPN2).

Three keys for UNLV as it tries to knock off its rival to the north:

Man up

UNR plays an isolation-heavy offensive system that relies on senior stars Caleb Martin, Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline to create in 1-on-1 situations. That means UNLV defenders better be prepared to get in a stance and guard straight up. If they let the Martings and Caroline win iso matchups with regularity, this game will be over quickly.

Get back

If this turns into an open-court game, UNLV will probably lose. UNR is lethal in transition (1.11 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports data), and that’s an area where the Rebels have struggled at times defensively this season. Marvin Menzies loves to send extra rebounders to the offensive glass, but he may have to back off today and have the Rebels retreat quicker in order to limit the UNR fast break.

Make shots

UNLV has morphed into the best shooting team in the conference (41.9 3FG% in Mountain West play), but is it for real? It will have to be in this game. UNR shoots so many 3’s and runs such an efficient offense that UNLV will have to make long-distance shots at a high rate in order to keep up.

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

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