RUNNIN’ REBELS HOST FRESNO STATE WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
UNLV has won seven of last eight at Thomas & Mack Center, play Bulldogs at 8 p.m. both days
- GameNotesat Fresno State (PDF)
- Season Stats (web) | Season Stats (pdf)
- Media Guide | Schedule
- @UNLVAthletics | @TheRunninRebels
The UNLV men’s basketball team, coming off a road sweep at San Jose State and winner of seven of its last eight games at the Thomas & Mack Center, will host Fresno State in a pair of Mountain West games scheduled for Wednesday, February 24 and Friday, February 26. Both games will begin at 8 p.m. with Wednesday’s televised by FS1 and Friday’s on CBS Sports Network.
UNLV is 4-2 in its last six outings, recording a home sweep over Air Force on February 6 and 8, then falling twice at Boise State on February 11 and 13 before the two wins at SJSU on February 19 and 21. In their second meeting vs. the Broncos, the Runnin’ Rebels had a chance to win on the last possession, trailing by one, but weren’t able to convert.
Because of COVID-19 issues, the Runnin’ Rebels went 33 days without a game before playing at Colorado State on January 7 for its first MW series of the season. However, since resuming play, UNLV has played a total of 16 games in a 45-day span.
Coming off a tie for second place in the Mountain West standings last season, UNLV has an entirely new look this year as 10 of its 13 scholarship players had yet to play in a game for the Runnin’ Rebels as the 2020-21 season began.
UNLV’s returners included senior forward Mbacke Diong, and junior guards Marvin Coleman and Bryce Hamilton. It was announced on January 16 that Coleman would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his right leg. Other returners from last year’s roster include junior transfer guard David Jenkins Jr., sophomore transfer forward Moses Wood, and walk-on junior guard Trey Hurlburt. Of the nine newcomers added to this year’s roster, seven are freshmen.
Hamilton was the team’s leading scorer last season. The Runnin’ Rebels’ first First-Team All-Mountain West recipient in seven seasons, he averaged 16.0 points per game as a sophomore. Diong led UNLV in rebounding at 7.9 per contest as a junior. Hamilton was also named a Preseason All-MW honoree in November, while Jenkins Jr. was selected as the league’s Preseason Newcomer of the Year and freshman guard Nick Blake was named the conference’s Preseason Freshman of the Year.
Hamilton is the team’s leading scorer this season and is third in the MW at 18.3 ppg. He missed a couple games with an ankle injury, but returned on Feb. 6 vs. Air Force. He also leads in assists with 3.4 apg (6th in MW), steals with 1.4 spg (5th in MW) and field-goal percentage at .434 (10th in MW). Diong is the team’s rebounding leader (8.1 rpg, 4th in MW). Jenkins Jr., is also averaging in double figures in scoring with 15.0 ppg (12th in MW), is second in the MW in 3-pointers made (2.9 per game) and is second in 3-point percentage (.433).
Fresno State is 9-9 overall this season and 7-9 in MW play. The Bulldogs are coming off a home series vs. San Diego State on February 18 and 20, both losses. The team is led in scoring and rebounding by Orlando Robinson with 15.0 ppg (11th in MW) and 9.3 rpg (1st in MW). Isaiah Hill is the team’s assist leader (3.0 apg, 11th in MW).
Wednesday’s television announcers are Daron Sutton and Doug Gottlieb, while Friday’s will be Joel Godett and Avery Johnson. Jon Sandler and former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com.
