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March 28, 2024

Blog: UNLV drops third straight, falls to New Mexico

UNLV Battles New Mexico

L.E. Baskow

UNLV’s Zion Morgan (10) is fouled on the way to the hoop by New Mexico’s Aher Uguak (1) during their game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017.

Updated Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 | 10:21 p.m.

Jovan Mooring missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, and New Mexico held on for an 80-77 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Mooring hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to keep UNLV alive, but UNM hit its free throws and kept the Rebels at bay.

This is the third straight loss for UNLV, all of which have been single-possession games in the final minutes. Mooring finished with 23 points and six assists, while Tyrell Green led the Rebels with 25 off the bench.

New Mexico was led by guard Elijah Brown, who scored 18 of his game-high 29 points in the second half.

The Rebels' outside shooting continues to be an issue, as the team made just 6-of-22 from deep. New Mexico made 7-of-15.

UNLV is now 10-13 on the season and 3-7 in the Mountain West.

UNLV trailing New Mexico late

With 3:33 remaining, UNLV trails New Mexico, 66-64.

Lobos guard Elijah Brown just made two free throws to put UNM in front. Brown now has a game-high 24 points, with six of those points coming from the line.

It looked like UNLV would even things up, as Tyrell Green had a chance at a breakaway layup, but a New Mexico defender caught him from behind and poked the ball away.

After a New Mexico shot got wedged between the rim and backboard, the possession arrow has given the ball back to the Rebels.

Green heating up, Rebels building lead

Tyrell Green's slump is over, and the senior forward is back with a bang. He's tied his season high with 23 points already, and his third 3-pointer of the night gave UNLV a 59-54 lead before a New Mexico triple closed the margin to 59-57 with 7:13 remaining.

Can UNLV capitalize on Green's big night? The defense will have to find a way to hold over the final eight minutes. UNLV has limited UNM to 40.0 percent shooting in the second half (8-of-20), but Lobos guard Elijah Brown has 11 in the half and 22 for the game.

Rebels with slim lead over UNM

After losing two close games on the road last week, will the Thomas & Mack Center be friendlier to the Rebels tonight? UNLV leads New Mexico, 50-48, with 11:18 remaining, and it looks like the Rebels are going down to the wire again.

Jovan Mooring and Tyrell Green have provided most of the offense for UNLV, combining for 29 points, while Elijah Brown's shooting has kept New Mexico in this one. Brown has hit 4-of-5 from 3-point range and has a game-high 18 points.

A key factor to monitor: Christian Jones has four fouls already, which could hurt the Rebels' interior defense.

UNLV, New Mexico tied at half

New Mexico used a 7-0 run to take a lead late in the first half, but UNLV recovered with a Jovan Mooring 3-pointer, and we're tied 35-35 at the break.

The Rebels should have themselves a decent little lead, but they allowed UNM to gain footing offensively in the closing minutes of the first half. The Lobos made five of their last seven shots, and top scorer Elijah Brown found his groove, as he tallied 11 in the half.

Mooring has been UNLV's offensive catalyst, scoring a game-high 13 points, and Tyrell Green has chipped in nine points.

Much like the first meeting between these teams, when Mooring dominated down the stretch and finished with 19 points and six assists, UNM appears to have no answer for the junior guard. Mooring has hurt New Mexico off the dribble and from beyond the 3-point line, so expect Marvin Menzies to put the ball in his hands a lot in the second half.

Green giving UNLV spark

Remember how well Tyrell Green was playing early in the season? Well that version of Green appears to have shown up tonight, as the senior forward is giving UNLV a big spark off the bench, scoring a team-high nine points in nine minutes to help the Rebels to a 29-27 lead over New Mexico with 3:47 left in the first half.

Green has UNLV's only 3-pointer so far, and he's also converted a pair of baskets inside. Jovan Mooring is leading the Rebels with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

New Mexico continues to search for offense. The Lobos are 11-of-23 from the field with six turnovers. Leading scorer Elijah Brown has eight points for UNM.

Rebels finishing early, lead New Mexico

UNLV is attacking the rim early, and Marvin Menzies must be loving it. After watching his Rebels miss a ton of layups in their last two games (both losses), Jalen Poyser and Cheickna Dembele flushed home consecutive dunks to give UNLV a 17-12 lead over New Mexico with 11:52 remaining in the first half.

Dembele and Jovan Mooring each have four points, and the Rebels have made 4-of-6 attempts around the rim.

New Mexico has struggled to find an offensive rhythm early, with Elijah Brown firing up quick shots and mostly coming up empty. UNM has made just 4-of-12 from the field so far.

UNLV looking for season sweep of New Mexico

When UNLV tips off against New Mexico at 8 p.m., the Rebels will have a chance to do something they haven't accomplished in six years — a season sweep of UNM. How can they make it happen? A few quick keys for the Rebels:

Defend without fouling

Anytime you play against New Mexico, you have to make a concerted effort not to foul on defense. The Lobos draw more contact than any other team in the Mountain West (they rank fourth in the nation in free throws attempted), and guard Elijah Brown does the majority of the damage. Brown averages a team-high 18.5 points per game, and more than 32 percent of his scoring production comes from the free-throw line. Whoever is defending him will have to be disciplined enough not to reach in or give Brown a chance to create contact.

This task is made easier by the absence of forward Tim Williams (foot injury). Williams is UNM's second-leading scorer (17.9 points per game) and another Lobo who lives at the free-throw line (5.3 attempts per game). Without Williams banging inside, UNLV can focus its defensive attention on Brown and avoid whistles.

Create turnovers

The Rebels did this extremely well in the first meeting with New Mexico, a 71-66 win at The Pit, as they forced 13 turnovers and outscored UNM, 20-14 in points off TOs. Jovan Mooring and Uche Ofoegbu were particularly active on the defensive end, combining for nine steals. Can UNLV create that kind of havoc again?

Hit 3-pointers

This has proved nearly impossible for UNLV lately, as top shooters Jalen Poyser and Tyrell Green have found themselves in bottomless shooting slumps. If one or both can snap out of it against New Mexico, the Rebels can score enough to win at home.

Prediction: UNLV 75, New Mexico 68. Without injured forward Tim Williams, the Lobos aren't diverse enough on offense. UNLV will swarm UNM's shaky ball-handlers, force turnovers and convert them into layups.

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