Rebels keep the good times rolling with win over Boise State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 | 11:44 p.m.

The Rebels are for real.

With Wednesday’s convincing 76-66 win over Boise State, T.J. Otzelberger’s team has planted itself firmly in the “contenders” category when the Mountain West tournament opens next week. That’s how dominant the Rebels looked at both ends of the court as they improved to 11-6 in conference play (matching last year’s win total).

It’s been an improbable ascent for UNLV, but the team’s embrace of small-ball has them playing as well — and quite possibly better — than any squad in the conference.

UNLV’s lead swelled to as much as 27 points in the second half as the Rebels ran a decent-to-good Boise State team (19-11, 11-7 MWC) off the floor. The Rebels’ four-guard offensive attack shredded the Boise defense to the tune of 50.9 percent from the field, led by 24 points from junior guard Amauri Hardy.

With one game remaining in the regular season (a very winnable contest at San Jose State on Saturday), UNLV has clinched a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and can still finish as high as third place.

That’s a long way from December, when UNLV sported a 4-8 record and Otzelberger lit into his team following a lackluster effort in a home loss to Pacific.

Otzelberger was in a much more jovial mood after watching his revitalized squad down Boise State.

“Our guys have continued to work and get better,” Otzelberger said. “What you’re seeing is the culmination of the character of our young men and the work ethic that they’ve had from non-conference to now. Our team is continuing to improve, and I’m proud of them for it.”

Boise State played much of the game in a zone defense in an attempt to keep UNLV from penetrating, and it worked in the opening minutes as the Rebels missed six of their first seven shots. But once Otzelberger went to his four-guard lineups, the Rebels were able to space the floor, create open lanes and dribble-drive to the basket.

The guard trio of Hardy, Bryce Hamilton and Elijah Mitrou-Long combined for 62 points, and much of that production came from drives to the rim, as they totaled 12 layups.

“It really opens up the floor, especially when teams play man-to-man,” Otzelberger said of the small-ball offense. “We’ve got four playmakers out there, guys that can get downhill and are dynamic with the ball.”

Hardy made 9-of-13 shots from the field. Hamilton connected on 7-of-12 and Mitrou-Long hit 7-of-14. At one point early in the second half, UNLV had a stretch where it made 14-of-15 from the field.

Hamilton said it was a matter of moving the ball from side to side to warp the Boise State defense, and then attacking the gaps.

“We knew that if we moved the ball to the third, fourth side we’d be able to have open guys to drive the ball and make plays,” Hamilton said.

Defensively, the Rebels swarmed Boise State leading scorers Derrick Alston and Justinian Jessup and frustrated the two talented guards all night. Alston finished with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting, while Jessup was held scoreless until the final 10 minutes (he finished with 19 harmless points).

UNLV has now won four straight games, with blowout victories over Colorado State and Boise State sandwiched around a signature win at San Diego State on Saturday. Small-ball is no longer a novelty — it has turned the Rebels into a legitimate threat to win the Mountain West tournament.

With one game left on the schedule, UNLV is right where it wants to be.

“We’re not playing against our opponents right now — we’re playing against ourselves, getting better,” Otzelberger said. “What I want to see is continued growth from our team. As a coach there’s no more gratifying feeling than your team getting better every day. We’re doing that right now.”

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