UNLV now 1-4 in Mountain West after improbable loss to Colorado State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 | 7:26 p.m.

UNLV basketball is in 10^th place in the 11-team Mountain West Conference.

It’s a long way from the team’s 10-0 start to open season, but that’s the reality of the situation after the Scarlet and Gray were stunned by Colorado State, 82-81, in overtime on Saturday. UNLV is now 12-5 on the year and a disappointing 1-4 in league play.

It was a game that a contending team would not have lost, as UNLV blew a four-point lead with eight seconds left in regulation, then blew another four-point lead with 30 seconds left in overtime.

Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens did the deed both times. The senior guard nailed two 3-pointers to send the game to overtime — including a ludicrous, overhead chuck from just inside halfcourt that banked in at the buzzer to tie the score at 70-70.

He then hit a stepback 3 with 20 seconds left in OT to pull CSU within 80-79. After Jordan McCabe made 1-of-2 free throws at the other end, Stevens drilled a 3 from the corner to put the Rams ahead with four seconds remaining.

Stevens finished with 33 points in a performance that will haunt UNLV — at least until the team starts winning again.

The team’s win probability would have increased had UNLV chosen to foul on the final play of regulation. Inbounding with 2.6 seconds on the clock, CSU lobbed a long pass into the frontcourt that Stevens had to leap high into the air to secure.

Senior wing Luis Rodriguez was close enough to foul Stevens on the catch, on the landing, or when Stevens took a dribble to load up for his halfcourt heave. Stevens did all that with his back to the basket, giving Rodriguez ample opportunity to foul and put Stevens on the line for two free throws. But head coach Kevin Kruger instructed his players to defend the play straight up, and Stevens’ miracle shot was the bitter result.

Kruger said he did not consider the foul-up-by-3 strategy, which comes with its own risks, and seemed to chalk it up to Stevens making a lucky shot.

“We made him catch it going away from the hoop, dribble — he just somehow made the shot,” Kruger said.

Stevens made all the shots down the stretch and finished 12-of-22 from the field and 8-of-16 from 3-point range. Colorado State shot 50.8% as a team, the second straight game a UNLV opponent has made more than half their attempts.

UNLV wasted another superlative performance from E.J. Harkless, who scored 26 points in the second half and overtime to match Stevens’ total of 33 points.

Unlike Stevens, however, Harkless was unable to convert his desperation fling from halfcourt as the overtime buzzer sounded. Harkless got off a reasonable look, but his potential game-winner glanced off the rim, dropping UNLV 0-3 at home in conference play.

At 1-4 in the Mountain West, UNLV is ahead of only Wyoming — and that’s pending the result of the Cowboys’ home game against Boise State, which tipped off later on Tuesday night. A win for Wyoming there would drag the Scarlet and Gray into a tie for last place.

It’s certainly not where the team wants to be or where they expected to be when they were steamrolling non-conference opponents just a month ago.

Harkless said UNLV had opportunities to finish off Colorado State but just didn’t do enough to win.

“We’ve just got to finish games. That’s what it comes down to,” Harkless said. “That’s on us.”

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