Rebels stay hot with 98-87 win over San Jose State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 | 10:31 p.m.

This is what UNLV basketball is supposed to look like.

It's not going to happen every night this season, for a variety of reasons — mostly the overall talent level and skill set of the current Rebels roster. But when T.J. Otzelberger's offense clicks like it did in UNLV's 98-87 win over San Jose State on Wednesday, it is a sight to see.

The Rebels have been winning Mountain West games with defense and sheer want-to, but against a shabby San Jose State defense they were able to unleash the kind of targeted, efficient offensive attack in which Otzelberger specializes. Six UNLV players scored in double figures and the team shot 55.4 percent from the field, including a 60-point explosion in the second half that allowed the Rebels to pull away and improve to 10-9 on the season (5-1 MWC).

Sophomore guard Marvin Coleman once again played a starring role, this time by initiating UNLV's dormant transition game. In addition to scoring a team-high 17 points, Coleman also handed out eight assists. Both were career highs for the former walk-on, who has become a key cog — maybe the key cog — in the Rebels' recent resurgence.

Coleman said he and his teammates were comfortable shifting gears to a more up-tempo attack.

"We always want to push the ball in transition and get guys open shots," Coleman said. "Guys like Jonah [Antonio] who can space the floor out. When he's running the wing and I'm pushing it, it's all about our spacing and getting the defense off balance. We don't want to let the defense set up, so as much as we can push it, we want to do that as much as possible."

When Coleman wasn't scoring, he was dishing to Antonio, who connected on 5-of-10 from 3-point range. It's the second straight game in which Antonio has made five 3-pointers, adding a key element to Otzelberger's offensive game plan.

Under Otzelberger, the Rebels want to emphasize three types of shots: open 3-pointers, layups and free throws. Against San Jose State they executed in all three areas, shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-20), 81.0 percent on layups (17-of-21) and 84.8 percent on free throws (28-of-33).

San Jose State helped the cause by playing down to its defensive reputation — the Spartans came into the game ranked No. 284 in KenPom.com's adjusted defense — but Otzelberger liked the way his team pushed the ball and generated shots from the most efficient spots on the floor.

"That's what we're trying to do," Otzelberger said. "If you're going to have an efficient offense, those are the areas you have to really focus on. Those are good numbers for us that we can build on moving forward if we can play with that same pace."

Amauri Hardy and Bryce Hamilton scored 16 points apiece, while Mbacke Diong added 12 points and 13 rebounds.

UNLV is now alone in second place in the Mountain West, trailing only undefeated San Diego State. The Rebels will host New Mexico on Saturday, kicking off a four-game stretch in which they'll face some of the conference's upper-tier teams (Jan. 22 at UNR, Jan. 26 vs. San Diego State, Feb. 1 at Colorado State, Feb. 5 at Utah State).

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