UNR puts UNLV in its place with eighth straight rivalry win

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 | 9 p.m.

In the state of Nevada, UNLV basketball is little brother.

It’s as simple as that after the scarlet and gray went to Reno and got swept by UNR, capped off by a 72-62 loss on Tuesday night that saw T.J. Otzelberger’s crew get outscored 19-4 to close the game.

UNLV has now lost an unthinkable eight consecutive games to its in-state rival, and considering the way this contest ended, it’s fair to wonder if that gap can be closed anytime in the near future.

Otzelberger said his team wasn’t up to the task when the going got tough.

“In a rivalry game you know that each team is going to be a little more chippy, a little more physical,” Otzelberger said. “We didn’t do a great job playing through adversity. When they scored, they scored in waves, particularly early in that second half and then again late.”

Even though UNLV got blown out by 29 points on Sunday, this might have been the more disconcerting of the two defeats.

UNLV admirably ground out each possession in the first half and built a workmanlike 58-53 lead with four minutes remaining, with Reno native Moses Wood (16 points) leading the way. But then it was as if UNR flipped the “big brother” switch, and the Wolf Pack immediately summoned the confidence of a team that knew it could pull away anytime it wanted.

Over the last four minutes UNR scored on all seven of its offensive possessions while holding UNLV to 1-of-6 shooting with two turnovers. UNR guard Zane Meeks scored on a driving layup to tie the game, 58-58, with 3:19 to play, and after a Caleb Grill turnover Meeks converted a putback to give the Wolf Pack the lead with 2:36 on the clock.

Wood missed a 3-pointer and Meeks connected from beyond the arc, pushing UNR’s lead to 63-58 with 2:01 left. Otzelberger called a timeout to set up a play, but freshman guard Nick Blake turned it over and Pack center Warren Washington hit a pair of free throws to put things out of reach and cement yet another UNLV loss to a team that has firmly established itself as the state’s best basketball program.

UNLV is now 6-9 on the season and 3-5 in Mountain West play, while UNR improved to 12-7 and 7-5 in the conference.

Otzelberger was proud of the way his shorthanded team defended in the first half, but when the game was on the line that resolve was nowhere to be found.

Things got so bad that Otzelberger benched David Jenkins for long stretches of the second half, citing the junior guard’s lack of communication on that end of the floor. Freshman Devin Tillis ended up playing more minutes than Jenkins, 28 to 26, but that only worked for so long.

UNR shot 62.5% in the second half (15-of-24 FGs), a show of dominance that left no doubt which program owns the Silver State.

“A rivalry game is having a stubbornness and a grit to you to say, ‘We’re getting a stop here, we’re putting an end to this,’” Otzelberger said. “We weren’t able to do that.”

UNLV was without junior guard and leading scorer Bryce Hamilton, who sat out his second consecutive game due to a sprained ankle.

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