Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

UNLV applies the pressure in comeback win over Southern Illinois

1118_sun_UNLVHighPoint2

Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger calls out to players during the second half of an NCAA basketball game against the High Point Panthers at the Thomas & Mack Center Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.

There’s no switch that the UNLV basketball team flips when it needs to play lockdown defense late in games.

It’s more of a culmination of 30-plus minutes of hard work, commitment to the game plan and relentless effort at that end of the floor. Head coach Kevin Kruger rolls out lineups comprised of five defensive pitbulls, and they work together to pressure the opposing team at every turn, landing blow after blow, confident in their belief that, eventually, something will crack.

On Monday, Southern Illinois cracked.

UNLV held the Salukis scoreless for more than seven minutes during a key second-half run, pulling ahead for good and holding on for a 56-49 win in the opening round of the SoCal Challenge.

The Scarlet and Gray are now 5-0 and will face Minnesota in the tournament final on Wednesday.

Southern Illinois led by as many as 11 points in the first half as UNLV struggled to put the ball through the basket. There was no worry on the UNLV sideline, however; the Scarlet and Gray trailed at the half in each of their previous two games and came back to win both by playing stifling defense over the final 20 minutes, and those story beats played out again on Monday.

After Southern Illinois forward Marcus Domask scored in the lane to give the Salukis a 45-41 lead with 10 minutes to play, UNLV didn’t allow them to score again until Domask hit another shot with 2:23 remaining. In the meantime, UNLV embarked on a 9-0 run to seize control.

Senior forward Luis Rodriguez hit two driving shots during that run, and sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert sliced through the Southern Illinois defense for a pair of layups. But the defense was the key, as UNLV held the Salukis to 28.6% shooting in the second half.

Kruger credited senior guard Eli Parquet with setting the tone at the point of attack and said UNLV’s ball pressure eventually took a toll on Southern Illinois.

“It’s really annoying to have somebody in your jersey the whole game,” Kruger said. “It’s kind of a continuous 40-minute thing where the guys are pushing that first catch out a little bit farther, making that second catch a little bit off target, and I think over time that’s annoying to play against.”

Parquet played 32 minutes and came away with a game-high three steals.

Domask made two free throws with a minute left to pull Southern Illinois within 52-49, and UNLV put the ball in the hands of senior guard E.J. Harkless on the game’s most important possession. Harkless drove to the middle, created some space and nailed a short jumper in the paint to make it a 5-point margin with 38 seconds remaining.

The clutch bucket gave Harkless 16 points on the night. Gilbert finished with a team-high 18 points and two steals, while Rodriguez tallied 14 points and five rebounds.

UNLV’s sustained peskiness at the defensive end generated 21 turnovers, giving them at least 20 in all five games this season.

Harkless agreed with Kruger’s assessment that UNLV’s smothering defense is a game-long process.

“I think just being consistent, it wears them down,” Harkless said. “Those passes aren’t as strong [as] when they were fresh at the start of the game. If we stay consistent, stay with our rules, load up and make guys’ passing vision harder, I think they get tired. Fatigue comes. Guys like E.P., Jackie, Luis, everybody is taking pride on defense, not letting anybody pass it where they want to. I think it wears them down and helps us in the long run.”

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

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