Bad shots lead to bad loss as UNLV misfires at SMU

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 | 8 p.m.

Eighty seconds into Wednesday’s game at SMU, Bryce Hamilton dribbled at the top of the key, sized up his defender and took a long, 2-point jump shot.

The shot missed, SMU claimed the rebound and quickly pushed the other way in transition.

At the next game stoppage, UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger removed his leading scorer. Hamilton spent the next four minutes on the bench as Kruger tried to use playing time to convey the importance of good shot selection.

Hamilton’s early benching stood out, but he wasn’t the only offender. UNLV spent most of the night launching ill-advised shots and SMU made them pay for it, handing the scarlet and gray a dispiriting 84-63 defeat in Dallas.

UNLV is now 4-4 on the season, with the only win in the last two weeks coming against Whittier College.

Kruger wants his team to run a measured offense, using continuous ball movement and probing penetration to keep defenses off-balance. On Wednesday, UNLV players too often settled for the first thing resembling a realistic look at the basket. Poor attempts led to a lot of misses — UNLV shot an icy 27.3% in the first half — and plenty of open-court opportunities for an SMU squad that was talented and athletic enough to cash in.

SMU tallied 11 fast-break points on the night (to UNLV’s two) and added many more baskets in transition, fueling the Mustangs to shoot 60.0% on the night (30-of-50).

Senior center Royce Hamm said UNLV’s offensive execution went off the rails immediately, resulting in an 0-of-6 start from the field that put them in a big hole early.

“We didn’t really follow the gameplan that coach installed,” Hamm said. “Shot selection. That’s one thing that’s our Achilles heel right now. Just learning each other, trying to play off each other, trying to learn when to drive and kick, when not to take the extra dribble, when to pick it up and kick it. That’s one thing we have to continue to get better at. And I think our shot selection translates to getting back on defense. All those things come together. I think if we get better shots, get in the lane, then that allows us to get back, get our defense set and set ourselves up for a stop.”

SMU took advantage of UNLV’s haphazard approach to build a 44-21 lead at halftime. The 21 points were a season low for UNLV in any half of basketball.

Junior guard Justin Webster said bad shots contributed directly to SMU making 6-of-12 from 3-point range over the first 20 minutes.

“Better shot selection, that’s what it comes down to,” Webster said. “We weren’t able to score in the first half, taking quick shots leading to them getting wide-open 3’s.”

Kruger reasserted his message at halftime and UNLV responded, making a more competitive 51.7% in the second half, but the game was over by then. SMU’s lead swelled to 28 early in the second and UNLV never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

Hamilton put his freelancing ways behind him after forcing his first shot and finished with 12 points on 5-of-12 from the field. Kruger said Hamilton understood his mistake and didn’t take the quick hook too personally.

That’s good, because it sounds like Kruger doesn’t intend to budge on his definition of what constitutes a good shot.

“There’s no ill will there,” Kruger said. “It’s something that, going forward, we’ve talked to a couple of the guys about what we want offensive possessions to look like. He understood it and he was good about it. We knew there were going to be some growing pains to it, but we’re going to start taking better looks. We want Bryce to be aggressive. We want him to shoot for us. But I think it’s on us as a staff to make sure that his looks are better and they’re more within the rhythm of the offense and what the other guys expect.”

Senior guard Kendric Davis led SMU with 18 points and eight assists. Hamm finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Webster came off the bench to record his best line of the year, totaling 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Kruger said he’ll have his team on the practice court at full intensity on Thursday, with shot selection undoubtedly being one of the main focuses before they head out on the road again to face undefeated San Francisco (8-0) on Saturday.

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