Rebels come up empty on offense in loss to Texas State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 | 10:18 p.m.

UNLV's offense was completely shut down in a 64-57 loss to Texas State on Wednesday, dropping the Runnin' Rebels to 2-4 in T.J. Otzelberger's first season as head coach.

Texas State came into the game with a top 50 defense, according to most metrics, and the Bobcats lived up to their reputation by strangling UNLV, especially over the final 20 minutes. The Rebels suffered through two separate lengthy droughts in the second half, at one point going 6:57 without a field goal, and then following that up a few minutes later by going another 5:21 without making a shot from the field.

That kind of stifling defense allowed Texas State to erase an early 26-16 deficit and left Otzelberger trying to answer for the Rebels' underwhelming attack.

"I think we've got to be a little more shot-ready on the perimeter to knock down the 3," Otzelberger said. "They are a really good defensive team, so some of those shots at the rim and in the mid-range are highly contested with length, competitive spirit and some physicality.

"I think there were some things out there tonight that I feel like were in our control that we've got to seize," he continued, "but we didn't."

Ball movement, player movement and pace were hard to come by for UNLV, as has been the case for most of the season.

Amauri Hardy followed up his efficient 25-point performance against Abilene Christian by scoring a team-high 18, but the junior guard made just 5-of-14 along the way. Junior forward Donnie Tillman got off to a hot start, scoring seven of UNLV's first nine points, but foul trouble and the Texas State defense combined to limit him to 3-of-11 shooting on the night.

UNLV finished at 34.7 percent shooting for the game. The Rebels committed eight turnovers in the second half and were held to just two fast-break points. On shots categorized as dunks or layups, UNLV was 9-of-24.

On the other end, most of Texas State's production came from guard Nijal Pearson, who knocked down 8-of-16 shots on his way to 25 points. Guard Mason Harrell was the only other Bobcat to hit double figures with 10 points.

With SMU set to visit the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, the Rebels will have a couple of days of practice to try to jump-start a moribund offense that is now averaging just 66.7 points per game.

"I don't know," Hardy said when asked what made it difficult to finish against Texas State. "You've got good days, you've got bad days."

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