UNLV riding wing duo of Bryce Hamilton and Donovan Williams

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Jan. 14, 2022 | 2 a.m.

UNLV has a dynamic duo.

Coming into the season, high-scoring senior guard Bryce Hamilton was about the only known quantity on the roster. He could be counted on to produce at a high volume, while the rest of the roster was comprised of promising newcomers looking for an opportunity.

At the midway point of the 2021-22 season, it appears Donovan Williams has seized that opportunity, first clawing his way into the starting lineup and more recently establishing himself as the team’s clear No. 2 scoring option.

In UNLV’s impressive 85-56 win over New Mexico on Tuesday, Hamilton and Williams combined for 46 points on 19 shots. Hamilton is now scoring 18.3 points per game, which is in line with expectations after he averaged 16.8 points over the previous two seasons. Williams is exceeding all projections, however; the junior transfer is now up to 13.9 points per game on the season after scoring 3.3 in each of his first two years at Texas.

Williams has come on strong over the past month and he has topped double figures in each of the last five games. During that stretch he has performed like a bona fide bucket, shooting 61.7% from the field (37-of-60) and 57.1% from 3-point range (8-of-14 3FGs).

Head coach Kevin Kruger has taken note of Williams’ assertiveness.

“If you watch him, he’s playing with a high level of security and confidence,” Kruger said. “He’s not forcing anything or rushing anything.”

And the good news for UNLV is that Hamilton and Williams are playing exceptionally well together. In the first two Mountain West contests — a loss to San Diego State and the win over New Mexico — the Scarlet and Gray have been at their best with their wing duo in action.

In 44:08 that Hamilton and Williams shared the court in those two games, UNLV convincingly outscored its competition by a tally of 81-58. When one or both of them went to the bench, UNLV was outscored, 60-59, in 35:52.

The split was especially pronounced against San Diego State. When Hamilton and Williams played together in that game, UNLV outscored the Aztecs, 38-35. With one or both of them out, San Diego State had a 27-17 advantage.

Head coach Kevin Kruger believes that Hamilton and Williams are not only making life easier on each other, but that their two-pronged scoring punch is having a positive trickle-down effect on the rest of the team.

“It opens up a lot of things,” Kruger said. “When we’ve passed and shared the ball, it adds that element of preparation for the opponent that has to worry about two wings versus one. That opens up things for guys like Jordan [McCabe] to catch and shoot more rhythm 3’s, or Royce [Hamm] around the basket, or Marvin [Coleman] driving, or whoever it may be. That added weapon just makes everybody more dangerous.”

With 15 games in the books and 16 games remaining in the regular season, it appears UNLV has begun to figure out its identity.

Offensively, it starts with Hamilton and Williams.

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