UNLV Rebels guard EJ Harkless (55) takes a shot over Air Force Falcons forward Rytis Petraitis (31) in the second half of an NCAA basketball game during the Mountain West tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 | 4:54 p.m.
“When in doubt, E.J. get a bucket.”
That was Luis Rodriguez’s thought after UNLV’s 78-70 overtime win over Air Force on Wednesday, and that pretty much sums it up.
The Scarlet and Gray did not play well — they shot 39.2% as a team in regulation — but when crunch time arrived, they had E.J. Harkless to bail them out, and that was the difference between a season-ending loss or moving on to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament.
Harkless poured in a career-high 35 points to make sure it was the latter.
The senior guard scored 10 of UNLV’s final 14 points in regulation, including a game-tying free throw with 18 seconds remaining to force overtime. And Harkless somehow reached another level in the OT period, scoring UNLV’s first eight points and tallying 11 in the five extra minutes to carry his team to victory in a game that head coach Kevin Kruger called “a rock fight.”
How much did Harkless will the Scarlet and Gray across the finish line? UNLV’s other four starters combined to contribute just 19 points.
No. 7 seed UNLV will now face No. 2 Boise State on Thursday in the MWC quarterfinals (6 p.m., Thomas & Mack Center). No doubt, they’ll need another monster performance from Harkless in order to compete with a Broncos team that is headed to the NCAA Tournament.
When asked if he can come back after logging 40 minutes against Air Force and turn in another high-scoring performance on Thursday, Harkless was unequivocal.
“One-hundred percent,” he said. “That’s what I came here for.”
Harkless scored just six points in the first half on Wednesday but got increasingly hot as the game went on. After a Carter Murphy layup gave Air Force a 57-54 lead with 2:02 remaining in regulation, Harkless went to work.
First he finished a transition layup to pull UNLV within one, and after a defensive stop he drove into the paint and drew a foul with 18 seconds on the clock. He made just 1-of-2 — probably his only miscue all afternoon — but that was enough to force overtime.
Harkless was shot out of a cannon in the extra period. He opened the scoring by swishing a 3-pointer, then drove inside for an old-fashioned 3-point play. After an Air Force basket, Harkless pulled up for a mid-range jumper to give him UNLV’s first eight points.
Harkless missed a transition attempt with two minutes left, but Rodriguez was there for the follow tip-in to make it a two-possession game.
From there, UNLV just had to convert its free throws, and now the Scarlet and Gray are alive for at least another day.
Rodriguez finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Webster chipped in 12 points.
Jackie Johnson gave the team eight points off the bench, a valuable contribution with starting point guard Keshon Gilbert suspended for the game due to his involvement in an altercation in the season finale at UNR.
Still, this game was all about Harkless.
“It's good to have a player like that that we can just give him the ball,” Rodriguez said. “Especially when he is going and just let him work.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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