UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger leads practice at Mendenhall Center Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022.
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 | 9:48 p.m.
Twenty-four hours after a shocking loss in the opening game of their exhibition trip to Canada, the UNLV basketball team bounced back in a big way with a reassuring 104-74 victory over the University of Calgary on Wednesday.
UNLV has one more game north of the border, as Kevin Kruger’s squad will take on the University of the Fraser Valley on Friday before returning home.
If Friday’s contest goes as well as the win over Calgary, UNLV will have salvaged the trip as much as possible after an upset loss against the University of British Columbia in game one.
The Scarlet and Gray opened strong against Calgary, building a quick 14-5 lead, and junior big man Isaiah Cottrell powered his way to the rim for a 3-point play to make it 17-5. UNLV led 22-13 at the end of the first quarter and pushed it to 42-31 at the half.
Sophomore guard Jackie Johnson brought the energy to start the second half, scoring a driving basket and a corner 3 to immediately expand UNLV’s advantage to 47-31. The lead reached as high as 19 points in the third quarter and the Scarlet and Gray were not seriously challenged down the stretch, leading by 20-plus for most of the fourth quarter.
Cameron Burist hit a 3-pointer to put UNLV over the 100-point barrier with a couple minutes to play.
Quick takeaways from the bounce-back win:
Active defense
One aspect of UNLV’s performance that has been consistent through the first two exhibition games is a disruptive defensive style. That’s important, because Kruger stated before leaving for Canada that one of his goals for the 2022-23 team is to force more turnovers. After causing 23 turnovers against UBC, the Scarlet and Gray forced another 20 on Wednesday.
Kruger liked the way his starters pushed the envelope on defense while remaining mindful of their responsibilities.
“Did a really good job setting the tone that they were going to have activity, they were going to have their hands in the passing lanes, they were going to stick to the scouting report,” Kruger said.
Senior transfer Eli Parquet proved to be a ball magnet against Calgary, notching two steals and two blocks, while sophomore Keshon Gilbert racked up three steals.
Johnson scores 18
For the second straight game, Johnson led UNLV in scoring, knocking down 6-of-10 shots to finish with 18 points.
While Johnson’s performance was impressive, Kruger focused on the balanced scoring attack behind him, as four other UNLV players finished in double figures.
“That’s the way we’re going to be,” Kruger said. “We’re going to be a team that [any] different night might be a different leading scorer.”
Justin Webster scored 13 points and Gilbert posted 12, while the big-man combo of David Muoka and Cottrell went for 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Final game
UNLV will have an off day in Vancouver before taking on Fraser Valley on Friday, and it sounds like Kruger wants his players to soak in the experience.
Kruger said the team will watch some film Thursday, but otherwise, the players will be tasked with enjoying themselves and their surroundings.
“We’ll spend some time together and relax and enjoy the trip,” Kruger said. “The goal going into the last game is going to be to continue doing what we’ve been working on and what we’ve been doing and taking that next step of trusting each other.”
