Blog: Rebels dominate second half, take 87-77 win against Boise State

By Taylor Bern

Published Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 | 7 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 | 10:21 p.m.

UNLV 87, Boise State 77

Game over

Pat McCaw finished with 25 points and five steals while leading UNLV to an 87-77 victory against Boise State tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center. In the second half, UNLV shot 57.1 percent from the field while forcing nine turnovers, which helped the Rebels overcome an eight-point halftime deficit.

Stephen Zimmerman Jr. scored a career-high 18 points, Derrick Jones Jr. notched 17 points on eight shots and Jerome Seagears was great getting into the lane, finishing with nine points and five assists. Junior Ben Carter was also in double digits with 10 points and the Rebels shook off an ugly first half at the free-throw line to shoot 12-of-17 after the break.

Boise State shot less than 40 percent in the second half and finished 6-of-18 on 3s, which is OK but not good enough on a night when UNLV scored 44 points in the paint. The Rebels also finished with 13 steals.

UNLV's big week continues Saturday at home against first-place San Diego State. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

It took Mikey Thompson awhile to find his groove at Boise State, and now that he’s dialed in, the Canyon Springs High grad has been a big reason for the Broncos’ success as they come to the Thomas & Mack Center tonight.

UNLV (12-8, 3-4) tips off against Boise State (15-5, 6-1) at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Thompson, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, is shooting better than 80 percent at the free-throw line, 50 percent on 2-point attempts and 38.7 percent around the arc, giving Boise State an offensive threat that they needed with the graduation of Derrick Marks and Anthony Drmic’s limitations after ankle surgery. So far in league play, Thompson has scored at least 12 points in every game.

Of course, there isn’t one offensive player that the Rebels can key on tonight. James Webb III creates mismatches with his length and versatility, Nick Duncan can bring out the defense with 3-pointers, as does Lonnie Jackson, and Drmic can still be a weapon when he’s moving well.

The Rebels on offense need to take care of the ball significantly better than they did at UNR, and if they do that and shoot a little better than the 3-of-19 beyond the arc they should get what they need at that end. Then it will just come down to playing defense well enough to keep Boise State from getting hot behind the 3-point line and hoping that’s enough to make the difference.

Prediction: If the Rebels win they’re going to cover the 3.5-point spread. UNLV 80, Boise State 72

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.