UNLV taps winning formula in rout of San Diego

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 | 9:38 p.m.

Halfway through his first season in charge of UNLV basketball, Kevin Kruger may have gotten his team to achieve what every coach strives for: consistency.

That was the consensus from Kruger and his players after UNLV turned in its best performance of the season in an 80-57 drubbing of San Diego on Wednesday to close out the nonconference portion of the schedule.

The scarlet and gray have now won four in a row, and more than any other time this year Kruger believes he knows what he’s going to get from his team on a daily basis.

“I couldn’t be happier and more proud of them because they played the way they practiced the last few days,” Kruger said.

It started on the defensive end, as UNLV held San Diego to 35.5% from the field (32.1% in the first half, 38.2% in the second half). On the offensive end, it was Bryce Hamilton and newly minted No. 2 option Donovan Williams carrying the load, as they each totaled 20 points on combined 50% shooting (14-of-28).

Williams’ emergence as that supporting scorer has done a lot to stabilize the scarlet and gray. Kruger moved the junior wing into the starting lineup on Wednesday, and Williams responded by making 7-of-12 shots and grabbing six rebounds.

During UNLV’s four-game winning streak Williams has scored in double figures three times and is averaging 18.3 points on 58.1% from the field.

With Williams and Hamilton shouldering the offensive load, the rest of the rotation seems to have fallen into place. Senior big man Royce Hamm provided his usual double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), senior point guard Jordan McCabe dished out seven assists, and freshman guard Keshon Gilbert chipped in six points and two steals in 12 minutes off the bench.

Williams attributed UNLV’s winning ways to he and his teammates developing reliable habits over the first half of the schedule.

“I think the biggest key is probably just consistency,” Williams said. “Everything we’ve been doing in practice, our practices leading up to the games, shootarounds, our warmups before the games, that’s probably the biggest thing, because I think everything we’ve done over the last four games, it works. That’s the formula. That’s what we have to stick to.”

UNLV also got some good news on the injury front, as junior forward Victor Iwuakor played for the first time since Dec. 8. Iwuakor logged 10 minutes and Kruger said he made it through without reaggravating his shoulder injury, so UNLV could be adding his defense and rebounding to the formula for the second half of the season.

After dispersing for the holidays, the scarlet and gray will tip off Mountain West play on Jan. 1 with a home game against San Diego State.

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