Live coverage: UNLV knocks off UNR, 68-62

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 | 9:21 p.m.

UNLV basketball appears to have found its footing again, as Kevin Kruger's squad played a strong second half to knock off UNR, 68-62.

E.J. Harkless did the heavy lifting down the stretch and finished with 18 points, but his biggest play came on the defensive end. With UNLV protecting a 65-62 lead and less than 40 seconds on the clock, Harkless drew an offensive foul on UNR leading scorer Jarod Lucas.

Justin Webster also finished with 17 points, while Victor Iwuakor recorded five blocks and two steals.

Lucas led UNR with 15 points, but the Wolf Pack shot just 36.4% as a team and committed 19 turnovers.

The win not only improves UNLV to 14-7 on the season and 3-6 in Mountain West play, but it completes a Silver State sweep, as the UNLV women also defeated UNR earlier in the day across the hall at Cox Pavilion.

The men will try to extend their winning streak to three games when they travel to take on Colorado State on Tuesday.

UNLV clinging to late lead over UNR

With 3:56 remaining, UNLV is clinging to a 62-60 lead over rival UNR.

UNR used a quick 7-0 run to take the lead with seven minutes to play, but E.J. Harkless countered with a driving layup to put the Scarlet and Gray ahead, 58-57. After a pair of Victor Iwuakor free throws, Harkless again scored off the dribble, this time pulling up for a mid-range jumper to extend UNLV's advantage.

Harkless just went to work again, driving and drawing a foul on his way to the hoop, so he'll shoot free throws after the timeout.

Even with those consecutive makes, Harkless is just 4-of-12 from the field tonight. But we've seen him get extraordinarily hot late in games this season, so perhaps he can carry UNLV across the finish line here.

Justin Webster has 17, UNLV leads UNR

Justin Webster continues to be red hot, and the result is that UNLV has a 47-44 lead over UNR with 13:24 to play.

After knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half — three of them from the corners — Webster just spotted up and drilled another corner 3. Then he drove on a close-out from the corner, went baseline and hit a floater to give him a game-high 17 points.

After his most recent 3-pointer, UNR coach Steve Alford turned to an assistant coach and had an animated discussion, no doubt talking about how to contain Webster. 

UNLV takes slim 35-33 lead over UNR at half

Keshon Gilbert ended the half with an exclamation point, getting a steal and racing the length of the court for a breakaway dunk, and UNLV has a slim, 35-33 lead over UNR at the break.

Justin Webster had the hot hand through the first 20 minutes, as he made 4-of-7 from 3-point range to give him a game-high 12 points. E.J. Harkless worked his way to eight points on 2-of-7 shooting.

On the defensive end, UNLV has limited UNR's open looks by switching some screens and sticking on others. Gilbert is leading the charge with three steals, while Victor Iwuakor and David Muoka have combined for five blocks. The Wolf Pack made just 34.4% from the field (11-of-32).

UNR did have some success from beyond the arc, making 5-of-9. If UNLV can't shore that up, it could come back to hurt them.

UNLV takes early lead over UNR

Consecutive baskets from bench players have given UNLV an early 12-11 lead over UNR.

Scoring has been a struggle for the Scarlet and Gray through the first eight minutes, but freshman Keyshawn Hall just knocked in a 3-pointer from the wing, and sophomore Shane Nowell followed that with a drive and spin for a layup to put UNLV ahead. Just a couple weeks ago, both players were not in the rotation.

UNLV has done a good job of buttoning up UNR, holding the Wolf Pack to 30.8% from the field so far. They have continued to not switch screens involving big men, which was a wrinkle Kevin Kruger just installed this week.

There has been no Luis Rodriguez sighting yet. The senior wing missed UNLV's last game due to a leg injury, but he participated in practice on Friday and took part in pregame warmups. He hasn't checked in yet, so it still remains to be seen if he's active for this one.

UNLV basketball looks to make it two in a row with win over UNR

UNLV basketball snapped a four-game losing streak by toppling Wyoming earlier this week, and now Kevin Kruger’s squad will try to keep it going and start a modest winning streak by knocking off UNR on Saturday (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

It’s a big game for the Scarlet and Gray. UNLV is hosting a fan event before the game, offering free Raising Cane’s to students and allowing people to take photos with the 1990 NCAA Championship trophy. And everyone is being asked to wear red; the program clearly wants a big turnout for this rivalry game.

Will it propel UNLV to victory? Three keys to watch:

Turn up the defense

UNLV’s defense thrives on creating turnovers. Even with the team’s recent skid, they still rank No. 1 nationally in takeaways (18.6 per game).

They’ll have to turn up the intensity against a UNR team that simply doesn’t give the ball away. The Wolf Pack commit 10.5 turnovers per game, the 17^th-best mark in the nation.

UNR’s experienced backcourt features two seniors in Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear, and both take care of the ball. Kruger wants to see his defenders extend their pressure on the pass and force Lucas and Blackshear further from the basket.

“If we can do a good job being disruptive, maybe not allowing them to catch in their spots where they want to catch, that will give us a much better chance defensively,” Kruger said.

If UNLV isn’t able to create turnovers by the dozen, they’ll need to fall back on the kind of solid defense they played against Wyoming, when they limited dribble penetration and held the Cowboys to 40.4% from the field.

Kruger thinks help defense will be especially important in keeping UNR from generating open shots.

“Of course you want to be sound and reliable with your teammates, but at the same time, the great defenses recover,” Kruger said. “They play for each other. If there is a half-step late somewhere, then somebody covers for someone. Someone puts out that fire. We use that term a lot. Put out that fire for a teammate.”

Expanded role for Nowell?

For most of this season, sophomore Shane Nowell was buried on UNLV’s depth chart behind fifth-year wings Luis Rodriguez, Eli Parquet and E.J. Harkless. But with Rodriguez and Parquet battling injury recently, it has given Nowell an opportunity to get on the court.

Against Wyoming, Nowell logged a season-high 18 minutes and played well, posting six points, four rebounds and a block. All his points came via the 3-point line, where he made 2-of-4.

Kruger was most impressed with the defense Nowell played.

“A lot of our good defensive clips involved Shane,” Kruger said. “We need to give him some more minutes and some more time. Especially now in January, as legs start to go and fatigue can start to creep in, it’s nice to know that we have him ready.”

It’s been a long process for Nowell to earn the confidence of the coaching staff, but it sounds like the 6-foot-6 swingman now know what it will take in order to seize an expanded role.

“The trust level has been growing,” Nowell said. “That I can contribute to the team from a defensive standpoint, guarding the best player, playing as hard as I can, running as hard as I can on defense and offense, and most importantly rebounding.”

Gilbert shooting straight again

A big aspect of Keshon Gilbert’s breakout campaign has been his improved shooting touch. After making just 28.0% of his 3-pointers as a freshman, he is up to 42.3% in 2022-23.

But after a hot start, Gilbert seemed to lose confidence in his jumper. He made just two 3-pointers in the first seven Mountain West games, and didn’t make any in consecutive losses to Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State. In fact, he only attempted one triple in each contest.

He seemed back on track against Wyoming on Tuesday, knocking in 2-of-4 from long range to spark the Scarlet and Gray offense.

Kevin Kruger said he wants Gilbert to have fun, fire away and not dwell on whether or not the shot is going to go in.

“You can tell he shot them without really thinking,” Kruger said of his performance against Wyoming. “Usually those are the ones that go in.”

Who: UNLV (13-7, 2-6 MWC) vs. UNR (16-5, 6-2 MWC)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m. at Thomas & Mack Center

TV: CBS Sports Network

UNLV leaders

Scoring: E.J. Harkless — 17.0 points

Rebounding: Luis Rodriguez — 5.7 rebounds

Assists: Keshon Gilbert — 3.8 assists

UNR leaders

Scoring: Jarod Lucas — 17.0 points

Rebounding: Darrion Williams — 7.5 rebounds

Assists: Kenan Blackshear — 4.6 assists

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