Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Small-ball Rebels steal one at New Mexico

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Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels guard Elijah Mitrou-Long (55) tries to lay up the ball by Texas State Bobcats guard Nijal Pearson (22) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.

UNLV picked up its gutsiest win over the season on Saturday, as the underdog Rebels went into The Pit and outplayed New Mexico down the stretch to score a 78-73 victory.

A season-ending injury to forward Donnie Tillman handicapped UNLV before the game, and early foul trouble for starting power forward Nick Blair dug the hole even deeper. The Rebels responded by going small and playing four-guard lineups for most of the day, and the small-ball attack worked to perfection.

Four Rebels guards — Elijah Mitrou-Long, Bryce Hamilton, Amauri Hardy and Marvin Coleman — combined to score 66 points on 54.0-percent shooting, and they made the biggest plays in the final seconds to make sure they walked out with a win.

Hardy finished with 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting and knocked down a couple clutch free throws to help UNLV improve to 8-6 in Mountain West play (13-14 overall).

“This was a big time road win for us,” Hardy said. “I feel like we stayed together all night and played a full 40 minutes. Even when we had bad plays or miscues on defense we got to the next possession. We pulled it out. We came here and we completed the job.”

Hot shooting from Coleman and Hamilton kept the Rebels close in the first half, as they combined for 24 points as New Mexico went into the break with a 41-40 lead.

Mitrou-Long got hot in the second half and hit a 3-pointer to put UNLV ahead, 62-60, with 8:10 to play. The Rebels wouldn’t trail again, but a Vante Hendrix layup pulled New Mexico within 72-71 with 1:28 remaining. Hardy drove down the middle on the ensuing possession and contorted in the air to finish a difficult layup and make it 74-71.

Corey Manigault hit two free throws to make it a 1-point game, and Hardy missed a short jumper with 27 seconds to play.

Though the Rebels hadn’t consistently gotten stops all day, Mitrou-Long came up with the biggest play of the game when he picked Martin’s pocket at the top of the key with 18 seconds on the clock. Mitrou-Long poked Martin’s dribble away just as he began his drive, and Mitrou-Long collected the loose ball and dribbled into the frontcourt before calling timeout.

UNLV inbounded to Hardy, and he went to the line with 12 seconds left and his team clinging to the slimmest of leads.

One game after the Rebels beat themselves by going 12-of-25 from the line in an overtime loss to UNR, Hardy’s free throws were no gimme.

With the New Mexico student section at full frenzy behind the basket, Hardy sank both free throws to make it 76-73.

Hardy said it was a satisfying contribution to an important victory.

“You definitely feel pretty good,” Hardy said. “That’s a pressure situation — a lot of guys don’t make those. You have fans screaming at you. It’s pretty much like the game is in your hands. The game could have gone a different way had those two free throws not went in. I’m glad I made those free throws to put our team in a good situation.”

New Mexico still had one more chance to tie, and Martin got a pretty good look when he pulled up from the wing with five seconds left. The shot bounced out, however, and Hamilton corralled the rebound. Hamilton then made his free throws to clinch the game.

Mitrou-Long finished with 17 points in 31 minutes off the bench, but it was his steal that made the difference.

Hardy was impressed by his teammate’s instincts, especially considering the situation.

“Oooooh,” Hardy said. “Let me tell you something: That was big time. That was a big-time steal. He’s a veteran guard, he probably saw it coming from miles away. He timed it perfect. Credit to him, man.”

Mitrou-Long said Martin had been driving downhill so often that the move became predictable. The Rebels’ fifth-year senior anticipated another crossover and drive, and he was ready for it with the pokeaway.

“I stepped one way, he crossed over and I was able to tap it without the ref calling a foul,” Mitrou-Long said. “I tapped it and I fortunately got the ball.”

UNLV ended up shooting 50.0 percent for the game and 7-of-16 from 3-point range. New Mexico shot 50.0 percent in the first half but dropped off to 37.5 percent in the final 20 minutes, including a 1-of-10 showing from beyond the arc.

Coleman enjoyed another magical performance, scoring 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting (4-of-4 from 3-point range) with three steals and three assists. Hamilton tallied 17 points.

While head coach T.J. Otzelberger probably wishes he had more size at his disposal, he thought his players made the guard-heavy approach work.

“We came out and knocked some shots down early, that really helped to open and space the floor,” Otzelberger said. “I thought our guys did a great job in transition. And we got just enough stops and were gutty at the right time to finish the game.”

With just four games remaining in the regular season, Otzelberger seemed confident that this group can figure out a way to compete despite not having its full complement of players available.

“It’s a great sign for our guys,” Otzelberger said of Saturday’s win. “We were cut and came in here in a hostile environment and bounced back from a tough loss there other night where we didn’t shoot it well. Huge win for us.”

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

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