Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Live blog: San Diego State stifles Rebels, 64-51

UNLV guard Jovan Mooring Shot

L.E. Baskow

UNLV guard Jovan Mooring (30) battles to the hoop past San Diego State forward Max Hoetzel (10) and San diego State forward Malik Pope (21) during their game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 | 8:53 p.m.

UNLV scored just 20 points in the second half, as San Diego State clamped down on defense and pulled away for a 64-51 victory.

The Rebels finished the game an anemic 20-of-56 from the field (35.7 percent) and made just 3-of-13 from 3-point range, while San Diego State used free throws (14-of-15) and 3-pointers (6-of-18) to cobble together enough offense to secure its first road win of the season.

UNLV is now 9-10 on the season and 2-4 in Mountain West play.

San Diego State pulling away

Things are looking grim for UNLV, as San Diego State leads, 57-48, with 3:34 remaining.

The Rebels simply haven't been able to generate any offense in the second half, shooting 7-of-22 with just two assists. San Diego State has outscored UNLV, 23-17, since halftime.

Trey Kell has come alive for the Aztecs, scoring 11 of his 19 points after the break.

Marvin Menzies has had to mix and match his backcourt for most of the half due to Jovan Mooring's foul trouble; Mooring fouled out with six minutes remaining.

San Diego State opens up 7-point lead over UNLV

The Rebels will need to make a run soon, or this game is going to get away from them.

After Jovan Mooring hit Jalen Poyser for a layup to cut the San Diego State lead to 44-42, SDSU coach Steve Fisher called a timeout to regroup. Since then, the Aztecs have gone on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 51-42 with 8:03 remaining.

UNLV has struggled offensively for the first 12 minutes of the second half, making just 5-of-14 from the field and accruing just two assists. That doesn't bode well for a comeback attempt, but we've seen the Rebels ride the roller coaster this season, so things could turn around.

Point guard Jovan Mooring is playing with four fouls and has eight points and one assist; Christian Jones has a team-high 10 points.

Mooring in foul trouble, Rebels trail SDSU

The Rebels are going to have to play uphill for most of the second half, as starting point guard Jovan Mooring picked up his third and fourth fouls in quick succession and had to head to the bench with more than 18 minutes on the clock.

Mooring has emerged as UNLV's primary playmaker this season, so the Rebels are going to have to get creative on offense until he checks back in. Freshman Zion Morgan has subbed in, but he's more of a defensive player at this point in his career.

So far, UNLV has done alright without Mooring. The Rebels are on a 6-0 run and have trimmed San Diego State's lead to 38-37 with 15:54 remaining.

San Diego State leads UNLV at half

San Diego State closed the first half on an 8-2 run, and the Aztecs have taken a 34-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. UNLV didn't score a field goal over the final four minutes of the half.

If you're a Rebels fan, you're probably discouraged by the scoreboard not reflecting how well UNLV has played tonight. UNLV played excellent defense for most of the half, but the great equalizer is the 3-point line, and San Diego State made 5-of-9 from the arc, while UNLV went 3-of-10.

Max Hoetzel has inflicted the most damage for SDSU, as he's made all three of his long-range attempts. He's got a game-high nine points, while guard Trey Kell has eight points.

While San Diego State has gotten its offense from the perimeter, UNLV has focused on getting the ball into the paint. Big men Cheickna Dembele and Christian Jones each scored eight points in the first half, combining to make 6-of-10 from the field.

If UNLV can close out more effectively on SDSU's shooters while continuing to shut down the paint, the Rebels can keep this game close in the second half. And as we saw against New Mexico last week, UNLV is capable of winning close games down the stretch.

Cheickna Dembele powering Rebels against San Diego State

Cheickna Dembele is having the best game of his young career, and he has powered UNLV to a 29-26 lead over San Diego State with 3:01 remaining in the first half.

On offense, Dembele has provided a presence in the middle, scoring a team-high eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, but his greatest contributions have come on the defensive end. Officially, he has been credited with two blocks, but he has altered at least three other layup attempts. His rim protection has helped UNLV hold SDSU to 9-of-24 shooting (37.5 percent).

It remains to be seen if Dembele can keep this up for the entire game, but for now the freshman has UNLV on top.

Shots falling early for UNLV

Scoring hasn't been an issue for the Rebels in the early going against San Diego State, as the Rebels have hit three 3-pointers and scored 1.071 points per possession while working their way to a 17-15 lead with 9:42 left in the first half.

Uche Ofoegbu got UNLV off to a good start by hitting his first two 3-point attempts, and Jovan Mooring also cashed in a long 3 to help the Rebels gain their early lead. As a team, UNLV has made 7-of-13 from the field through the first 10 minutes, with six assists on the seven made field goals.

One worrisome development to monitor is Mooring's foul trouble, as the starting point guard picked up two quick personals and had to head to the bench. Freshman Zion Morgan has been filling in and doing a solid job on the defensive end.

If UNLV can keep up this kind of offensive production, we should have a close game into the second half.

Rebels looking to seize momentum against San Diego State

It's been a full week since UNLV last played, but the Rebels are still riding high after their 71-66 road win at New Mexico last Tuesday. That victory clearly injected some much-needed verve into the team, and the Rebels will try to keep the momentum going tonight when they welcome league rival San Diego State to the Thomas & Mack Center.

San Diego State has started slowly this season, coming into the game with a 10-7 record and a 2-3 mark in conference play, but the Aztecs still seem like the logical choice to challenge UNR for the Mountain West title when tournament time comes. As usual, SDSU is aces on defense (checking in as the MWC's top unit, according to KenPom.com) and challenged on offense (No. 149 in KenPom's adjusted offense metric), which should give UNLV a chance to hang around. And if the Rebels play as well as they did at UNM, they could pull off another surprising conquest tonight.

The Aztecs' offense now runs through sophomore guard Jeremy Hemsley and junior guard Trey Kell, who combine to average 28.7 points per game. Most of their production comes from behind the 3-point line, and neither is all that adept at penetrating the defense, which is probably a good thing for the Rebels, as UNLV has struggled to contain the dribble this season.

On the other end of the court, SDSU is still capable of smothering the Rebels if the offense fails to execute. Sophomore forward Zylan Cheatham is one of the MWC's rising defensive stars, averaging 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while holding opponents to 31.0-percent shooting against him. The Rebels will have to be measured about when and how they challenge Cheatham.

Before the Rebels' last open practice on Friday, Marvin Menzies hinted that he would stick with the same starting lineup he used against New Mexico, an alignment that featured Cheickna Dembele at center and Christian Jones at power forward. That defensive-minded lineup gave UNLV more size under the basket and outscored UNM, 29-24, in 19 minutes of court time. Against an even more physical San Diego State team, look for Menzies to lean on his defensive lineups even more frequently.

Mike's prediction: San Diego State 66, UNLV 62. The Rebels are trying to get better on defense, but they're not yet equipped to win a rock fight with San Diego State.

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