Mack is back as UNLV beats UNR for first time since 2018

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 | 10:54 p.m.

Does UNLV have something here?

On Tuesday night, if you squinted, you could see the outline of a quality basketball program as the Scarlet and Gray rolled to a rousing 69-58 win over in-state rival UNR.

It started before the game, when the student section filled up for the first time this season and made some noise for the pregame introductions. That energy carried over to the opening minutes, as UNLV’s defense forced UNR to miss eight of its first 10 shots.

Then freshman Keshon Gilbert came up with two steals at halfcourt, with the second theft leading to an explosive breakaway dunk for Donovan Williams. The tomahawk jam gave UNLV a 16-6 lead and forced Wolf Pack coach Steve Alford to call timeout. And wouldn’t you know it, the Thomas & Mack Center got loud.

With the crowd of 6,670 fans rocking and Bryce Hamilton making jumpers and the defense finding its stride and role players beginning to chip in consistently, UNLV has suddenly won two games in a row, both in impressive fashion.

So, again, does UNLV have something here?

Hamilton seems to think so. He followed up his historic 42-point outing at Colorado State on Friday with a more modest 17 points against UNR, but his teammates picked up the slack. Three other UNLV players scored in double figures, with Williams going for 17, Jordan McCabe going for 16 and Mike Nuga going for 10.

That team effort has Hamilton convinced UNLV has turned a corner, and from the postgame podium he was already looking forward to Saturday’s road game at Utah State as a chance to solidify his belief.

“I feel like we’re clicking a little bit,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a tough one on Saturday against Utah State. They’re probably playing the best right now in our conference, so we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

The Scarlet and Gray are now 13-9 in Kevin Kruger’s first year at the helm, with a 5-4 mark in Mountain West play.

Kruger’s big coaching point during Monday’s practice was defensive intensity, especially early in the game. He wanted his players to lock down from the start, like they did at Colorado State. And they responded, holding UNR to 7-of-27 shooting over the first 20 minutes (25.9%).

That ability to take the game plan and translate it to the court might have been the most encouraging sign from Kruger’s perspective.

“Obviously it’s a prideful group,” Kruger said. “That starting group is kind of taking that to heart. They’ve now had a couple great starts defensively but we’ve got to keep figuring things out offensively so we can maybe get a couple more good looks.”

It was not a perfect performance, or even a near-perfect showing like the 88-74 victory at CSU over the weekend. Hamilton’s shot came and went (6-of-17 FGs), and UNLV let the Wolf Pack hang around a little too long after building a 19-point lead. But after three months of stops and starts and inconsistent play, UNLV may be honing in on a winning formula.

Kruger credited his players for pushing through the rough patches.

“We’ve talked about injuries and COVID pauses and audibles, and they just continue to come to work,” Kruger said. “They continue to have a great attitude about it.”

UNLV has a bona fide star who is playing like a star, a supporting cast that’s figuring it out and a coach who is getting the most of his roster, and on Tuesday it resulted in the program’s first win over UNR since 2018.

Oh, and the Mack might be back, too.

“The crowd,” Kruger said. “If you guys write anything, please write about how unbelievable that crowd was, and the energy and the student section. My goodness. That was so much fun to come out of the tunnel and see how much life there was in the Thomas & Mack. I thought there was a direct correlation to the guys and hopefully we can keep doing that throughout the year.”

UNLV may just have something here.

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