Live blog: Rebels lose in overtime at Cal

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019 | 4 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019 | 10:24 p.m.

Elijah Mitrou-Long carried UNLV through overtime, but the senior's driving shot was blocked with 1.3 seconds to play, allowing Cal to secure a 79-75 win.

Mitrou-Long scored UNLV's last eight points, all on drives to the basket, and with the Rebels trailing by two points and 10 seconds on the clock, T.J. Otzelberger called his number again. Mitrou-Long drove the right side of the lane and appeared to have a step on his defender, but the help defense met him at the rim to stifle the attempt. 

Donnie Tillman led UNLV with 17 points, while Mitrou-Long scored 16.

UNLV is now 1-2 on the season, with both losses coming in overtime. The Rebels will next play at UCLA on Friday. 

UNLV and Cal heading to overtime

UNLV led by nine points with five minutes to play, but Cal closed regulation on an 11-2 run and now we are heading to overtime for the second straight game. 

The Rebels simply couldn't generate quality shots down the stretch. The only basket was a difficult finish by Amauri Hardy on an isolation drive; the rest were contested shots, two of which were blocked. UNLV also committed some unforced turnovers to help fuel the Cal run. 

Overtime was unkind to the Rebels three days ago against Kansas State. Can they rediscover their groove on offense and get one back tonight? 

Rebels hold 65-62 lead late

The Rebels built a lead as big as nine points, but after some sloppy offense and a 3-pointer by Cal guard Joel Brown, the UNLV lead is down to 65-62 with 3:12 to play.

UNLV has gotten careless with the ball in the second half, committing nine turnovers so far. On the last two possessions, Elijah Mitrou-Long threw away an outlet pass and Donnie Tillman was called for a charge that negated an inside bucket.

With the offense sputtering, the Rebels may have to dig in and try to close this game on the defensive end. They've held Cal to 38.1 percent from the field in the second half, and Mbacke Diong (two blocks) has been a strong presence inside.

UNLV leads Cal in second half, 52-51

UNLV may have missed its chance.

In a game that has seen both teams shoot it better than 50 percent, the Rebels actually held Cal scoreless for three minutes in the second half. That stretch included three forced turnovers by the UNLV defense, but despite all that, the Rebels couldn't add to their lead, and with 11:33 remaining UNLV is up 52-51. Cal will shoot a pair of free throws after the timeout.

The Rebels committed just one turnover in the first half and have already committed five in the second half. That explains the inability to take advantage of Cal's cold spell.

Now it looks like this game will be nip and tuck through the final 12 minutes. UNLV has already lost one close game this season; how will the Rebels respond tonight?

UNLV has slim halftime lead at Cal

At halftime, UNLV has a 40-38 lead at Cal, and if the Rebels can string together some stops in the second half they should have a pretty good chance of leaving Berkeley with a win.

That's because Cal cannot defend at all. UNLV spent most of the first half driving to the rim for easy shots, with Amauri Hardy (11 points) and Donnie Tillman (10 points) doing most of the damage. Cal has kept pace by making outside shots (4-of-9 from 3-point range), especially guard Matt Bradley, who has been a particular thorn in the Rebels' side with 15 points (3-of-6 3FGs).

Based purely on the quality of shots each team is creating, UNLV has a better chance of sustaining its offense for the next 20 minutes. It might only take one good defensive stretch���say, four or five consecutive stops���to take control of this game in the second half.

Tillman, Rebels lead Cal, 23-21

T.J. Otzelberger said he wanted to get Donnie Tillman more involved, and so far the junior forward has been everywhere in helping UNLV build a 23-21 lead at Cal.

With 7:35 left in the first half, Tillman already has five points and two assists. He has been aggressive in attacking the basket, leading to three trips to the free-throw line, and he just executed a perfect pick-and-roll with Mbacke Diong, finding the big man for a dunk.

While the offense has been humming, the Rebels haven't been as strong on the defensive end. Cal guard Matt Bradley has eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, and the Bears are hitting 56.3 percent as a team.

Rebels lead early at Cal

There hasn't been much defense played early, and at the first media timeout, UNLV has a 13-12 lead at Cal.

The Rebels' last game may have been a rock fight, but so far tonight scoring has not been an issue. UNLV got three layups and a dunk on its first four possessions, and though Amauri Hardy just missed a pull-up jumper, UNLV is still shooting 6-of-8 for the game.

Whichever team finds its foothold on the defensive end first will have the advantage tonight.

Rebels looking to get Tillman more involved at Cal

UNLV's offense became very one-dimensional down the stretch in Saturday's loss to Kansas State, as the Rebels relied on Amauri Hardy to create scoring opportunities through 1-on-1 isolation. That's not the way coach T.J. Otzelberger wants to play, however, so while it worked against KSU, look for UNLV to come out tonight with a renewed focus on moving the ball.

Donnie Tillman could be the main beneficiary of an effort to get more players involved. Otzelberger said after the loss that Tillman needs to be a bigger part of the offense, and that it's up to Otzelberger to scheme it into existence. Tillman hasn't quite found his footing yet at UNLV, as he's averaging 8.5 points so far on 37.5 percent shooting. Getting him some easy looks in the early minutes against Cal could help him get integrated.

Three keys for UNLV basketball at Cal

UNLV missed out on a chance to nab a win over a power-conference opponent on Saturday, when Kansas State escaped the Thomas & Mack Center with an overtime win. The good news for the Rebels is that they won't have to wait long to get another shot, as they'll tip off against Cal on Tuesday (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

Three keys to watch:

Defend the perimeter

Cal is looking to push the ball in transition under coach Mark Fox, and the Bears had success doing it in their season-opening win over Pepperdine. In that game, nearly a third of their possessions (32.6 percent) came in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, and they put a premium on driving to the rim in those situations.

When the bears couldn't get to the basket, sophomore guard Matt Bradley was there to knock down 5-of-7 3-pointers and score 25 on the night. Between Bradley and senior guard Paris Austin (16 points, 7-of-9 shooting), Cal's offense is run through the backcourt. That means UNLV will have to match up, especially early in the shot clock.

Help Hardy

Amauri Hardy played a great game against Kansas State, but the Rebels asked him to do too much. More than 30 percent of UNLV's offense came from Hardy isolation, and that's too much of a burden for a team that is supposed to be built on ball movement.

The Rebels need to get back to spacing the floor, sharing the ball and creating open looks for each other. Then, if that doesn't work, it'll be time to put the ball in Hardy's hands and let him go to work.

Get revenge

The last time UNLV played Cal, it was a first-round meeting in the 2013 NCAA tournament. That was the Rebels' most recent tourney appearance, and it did not go well. Despite beating Cal in Berkeley in a regular-season meeting a few months earlier, No.5-seeded UNLV was ground up by the Golden Bears' halfcourt offense in the rematch, and the Rebels left with a 64-61 loss.

That game probably doesn't sting so much for the current Rebels���that was two athletic directors and three coaches ago (including interims), and obviously no players remain from that squad���but the fans surely remember. So while a road win over a Pac-12 opponent would be nice, a victory on Tuesday would be extremely satisfying for UNLV diehards for reasons beyond the final score.

TV: Pac-12 Network

Radio: ESPN 1100 AM

Betting line: Cal minus-3.5

Cal (1-0, Kenpom No. 149)

Coach: Mark Fox

Scoring leader: Matt Bradley, 25.0 points per game

Rebounding leader: Andre Kelly, 10.0 rebounds per game

Assist leader: Matt Bradley, Paris Austin, Kareem South, 3.0 assists per game

UNLV (1-1, Kenpom No. 152)

Coach: T.J. Otzelberger

Scoring leader: Amauri Hardy, 21.0 points per game

Rebounding leader: Mbacke Diong, 14.0 rebounds per game

Assist leader: Amauri Hardy, 4.5 assists per game

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