UNLV fails first conference test in OT loss at San Jose State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022 | 10:24 p.m.

Anything less than a complete team effort from UNLV is not going to be enough to win in the Mountain West this season.

That’s the lesson the Scarlet and Gray learned on Wednesday, and they learned it the hard way when they traveled to San Jose State and fell in overtime, 75-72. Some players performed well in spurts, but that uneven showing was not good enough, as SJSU built a 13-point second-half lead and held on down the stretch in the extra period.

After working so hard to compile an impressive 11-1 record in non-conference play, UNLV is now 0-1 to start the league portion of the schedule.

UNLV turned in one of its worst halves of the season to open the game, falling behind 41-30 at the break as San Jose State made easy work of the Scarlet and Gray defense. SJSU committed just five turnovers in the first half and used sharp passing to slice apart UNLV’s aggressive D, finding open men under the basket and converting 13 of its first 20 shots inside the arc.

Senior guard E.J. Harkless went scoreless in the first half and said UNLV just wasn’t up to speed for the first 20 minutes.

“They just came in and played at their own pace,” Harkless said. “We didn’t speed them up like we’ve sped other teams up. They got the shots they wanted and they didn’t turn it over much. That’s on us.”

Harkless turned it on in the second half, pouring in 19 points, and the rest of the UNLV squad followed his lead. The Scarlet and Gray used a 13-0 run midway through the half to tie the game, 58-58, and after a SJSU free throw, Harkless made back-to-back baskets in the paint to give UNLV a 62-59 advantage.

With the score tied again a few minutes later, Harkless connected from long range to give UNLV a 65-62 lead with 3:21 to play.

Those were the team’s final points of regulation, however. UNLV ran isolation plays for Harkless on the final four possessions, and the results were two missed shots and two turnovers as San Jose State came back to force overtime.

“I was just taking what the defense gave me,” Harkless said, “but it wasn’t enough.”

Harkless played the entire second half without subbing out, and Kruger said he started to cramp late in the game.

Still, UNLV put the ball in his hands on the game’s biggest possessions.

“We definitely wanted to feed the hot hand,” Kruger said of calling Harkless’s number. “He was doing a good job of getting in the paint and making plays. The guys were doing a good job of moving around him. I thought him and the guys did a pretty good job of recognizing where he had an advantage.”

The overtime period was a slog for the Scarlet and Gray, as they went 3-of-9 from the field (with one of the makes being a meaningless jumper from Harkless as time expired).

Still, they had their chances. Trialing, 72-70, with 30 seconds left, Jordan McCabe stole an inbound pass at midcourt and threw it ahead to Keshon Gilbert in the open court. Gilbert drove to the rim but missed a contested layup. San Jose State grabbed the loose-ball rebound and made its free throws to seal the game.

UNLV failed to execute its set formula for winning games. Kruger’s squad came into the day leading the nation in forcing turnovers (21.0 per game), but managed to generate just 12 against the Spartans. And they got crushed on the boards, allowing 16 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points.

McCabe, who started in place of Gilbert due to the latter's travel issues, said UNLV just got out-worked.

“Probably just toughness,” McCabe said when asked what made the difference in the game. “I thought, for lack of a better term, they kind of punked us in the first [half]. They were stronger. They were the more aggressive team. I think they were plus-10 on the boards in the first. That glass number tends to show toughness.”

Harkless ended up with a game-high 21 points, while Justin Webster chipped in 11.

Omari Moore led San Jose state with 15 points and seven assists, and maybe most importantly, the senior guard turned it over just three times against UNLV’s pressure defense.

UNLV will return home to host preseason Mountain West favorite San Diego State on Saturday.

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