UNLV basketball leans on Harkless for 69-59 win over Wyoming

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 | 3:35 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 | 8:44 p.m.

It took a while for UNLV to get revved up on Wednesday, but Kevin Kruger’s squad did what it had to do in the second half to secure a 69-59 victory at Wyoming.

The Scarlet and Gray finally created some breathing room after halftime, when E.J. Harkless sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Jordan McCabe triple. The 9-0 run put UNLV ahead, 38-33, and they never trailed again.

Wyoming didn’t go away, however. Though UNLV pushed the lead as high as 11 points, the Cowboys got into the penalty early and went 14-of-18 from the free-throw line to scrap their way back into the game. When Brendan Wenzel hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 7:07 remaining, UNLV’s advantage was trimmed to 52-49.

UNLV landed a dagger when Eli Parquet lined up a 3 from the wing and drilled it just before the shot clock expired, giving UNLV a 61-50 lead with four minutes left. It was the only field goal of the night for Parquet and just his fourth 3-pointer of the season.

Harkless carried UNLV’s offense when no one else was able to get anything going. The senior guard made five 3-pointers and finished with 33 points, tying his season high.

The win improves UNLV to 16-8 on the season and 5-7 in Mountain West play. The team will now face perhaps its toughest test of the season, on the road at San Diego State on Saturday.

UNLV leads Wyoming at half, 25-24

After what may have been the strangest 20 minutes of basketball UNLV has played this season, the Scarlet and Gray find themselves with a slim halftime lead at Wyoming, 25-24.

How weird was the first half? It took UNLV more than 18 minutes to make its first bucket from inside the arc, and the team went into the locker room a dismal 2-of-14 on 2-pointers. Meanwhile, a 6-of-18 showing from long distance has kept the offense afloat — as much as 25 points can be called “afloat.”

Give credit to Wyoming for hanging in so far. The Cowboys have been decimated by injuries and dismissals over the past two days — leading scorer Noah Reynolds is out for the year due to concussions and three rotation players were kicked off the team just yesterday — but they have played UNLV tough despite using just seven players.

E.J. Harkless leads UNLV with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting (3-of-3 from 3-point range), while Keshon Gilbert has five points, three assists and a steal. Gilbert is a team-best +8 in his 15 minutes.

Given the odd circumstances surrounding this game, on and off the court, you can throw style points out the window. UNLV’s main objective is now to escape with a win by any means necessary.

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With seven games remaining in the regular season, UNLV basketball is entering the stretch run, and it begins Wednesday night with a tricky road tilt at Wyoming (7:30 p.m., FS1).

Can the Scarlet and Gray take care of business and complete their first season sweep of a conference opponent? Three keys to watch:

Does the D show up?

Team defense is UNLV’s identity, but the Scarlet and Gray have been inconsistent on that end of the floor in Mountain West play, and the results speak for themselves: a 4-7 league record, including an 82-79 loss to doormat Fresno State on Friday.

After Fresno carved up the defense to the tune of 49% from the field and 52.9% from 3-point range, head coach Kevin Kruger said there’s only one way to get back on track.

Practice, and lots of it.

“Reps,” Kruger said when asked how UNLV can get better on defense. “At this point the reps are a little more concentrated. Not necessarily just go-go-go, learn-learn-learn, learning on the fly, as much as really focused in and locked in on what’s been hurting us.”

Wyoming’s offense isn’t exactly a buzzsaw (1.02 points per possession, No. 141 in the nation), but neither was Fresno State’s. If UNLV can tighten things up and hold the Cowboys in the 30s at the end of the first half, that will be a good sign.

Depleted opponent

Wyoming is going through some things at the moment.

On Tuesday, Cowboys leading scorer Noah Reynolds was ruled out for the rest of the season due to concussions. And on Wednesday — just hours before game time — starting point guard Ethan Anderson and role players Max Agbonkpolo and Jake Kyman were dismissed from the team.

Throw in the the news last week that All-MWC big man Graham Ike will not return this year, and Wyoming is seriously depleted.

Guard Hunter Maldonado is still an all-around threat, and stretch-center Hunter Thompson always seems to give UNLV problems, but beyond that, the Cowboys have almost no firepower left.

Look for UNLV to focus its defensive efforts on Maldonado, who can use his size (6-foot-7) to present matchup problems. Fortunately for Kruger, UNLV is as deep on the wings as they have been all year thanks to good health and the development of young players. Eli Parquet, Luis Rodriguez, Justin Webster and Shane Nowell are all capable of giving the team good minutes, and even guards E.J. Harkless and Keshon Gilbert can match up against the bigger Maldonado in certain situations.

Look for UNLV to mix and match in an attempt to slow down Wyoming’s top option.

“We all bring something different to the table,” Parquet said.

McCabe returns

The team got some good news this week when Jordan McCabe returned to practice after missing the Fresno State game due to a back injury.

The senior point guard has become an integral part of the rotation this season, using guile and timely shooting (40.4 3FG%) to boost UNLV’s halfcourt attack. UNLV’s three most efficient lineups in conference play feature McCabe running the point.

Kruger said McCabe looked like he was back to normal after Monday’s practice, so look for him to resume his usual role as an early sub who will play 25-plus minutes.

Who: UNLV (15-8, 4-7 MWC) vs. Wyoming (7-15, 2-8 MWC)

When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at Wyoming Arena-Auditorium

TV: FS1

UNLV leaders

Scoring: E.J. Harkless — 17.4 points

Rebounding: Luis Rodriguez — 5.7 rebounds

Assists: Keshon Gilbert — 3.6 assists

Wyoming leaders

Scoring: Noah Reynolds — 14.5 points

Rebounding: Hunter Thompson — 5.4 rebounds

Assists: Hunter Maldonado — 3.7 assists

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