UNLV MEN’S BASKETBALL LOSES LEAD LATE IN 72-62 LOSS AT UNR
Wolf Pack closed game on a 19-4 run Tuesday night at Lawlor Events Center in the series finale
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The UNLV men’s basketball team led late, but couldn’t hold on in a 72-62 loss Tuesday night at Lawlor Events Center in the finale of its two-game Mountain West series.
The Wolf Pack (12-7, 7-5) were led by Zane Meeks’ 19 points and eight rebounds. Grant Sherfield scored 18 points and Warren Washington added 15.
UNLV (6-9, 3-5) also had three players in double figures, led by Reno native Moses Wood’s 16 points (one shy of his career high). He also collected seven rebounds. Caleb Grill, who made 4 of 8 3-pointers, scored 14 points and Nick Blake added 11. Mbacke Diong recorded a game-high nine rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV held UNR to just 26.7% shooting in the first half (8 of 30), including 18.8% on 3-pointers (3 of 16), however the Wolf Pack made 15 of 24 (62.5%) field goals in the second half.
TURNING POINT: UNLV led by five points with under six minutes to go and by two (58-56) with under four minutes left. However, a 17-2 run gave UNR a 10-point lead with 30 seconds left.
QUOTABLE: “I am proud of our guys and the preparation in getting ready for this second game. I thought our defensive effort for the first half was exactly what it needed to be to come out and be successful. Unfortunately, when we came out of the locker room to start the second half there was some complacency and they were scoring at a high regularity. I think we gave them some confidence and with a lot of inexperience out there we weren’t able to do the job we needed on either end of the floor. I commend the guys – a lot of them played heavy minutes – for their fight and compete, but if you want to win a game like that especially against a rival, all of the details matter.
The difference was the run they had early in the second half and then late.” – UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger
NOTES:
– UNLV’s leading scorer Bryce Hamilton, who has averaged 18.3 ppg this season, was out again with an ankle injury.
– It marked the 93rd all-time meeting between the two men’s basketball programs.
– UNR has now won eight straight meetings in the series and four in a row in Reno.
– There were 15 lead changes and 10 ties throughout the game.
– UNLV turned the ball over 13 times to UNR’s seven. The Wolf Pack led in points off turnovers, 15-7.
– UNR’s bench outscored UNLV’s, 28-6.
– UNLV led 30-26 at halftime.
– UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,117 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN’ REBELS: UNLV will return home for a two-game Mountain West series vs. Air Force on Saturday, February 6 and Monday, February 8. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and Monday’s will be at 6 p.m. Both contests will be televised on CBS Sports Network, while the radio calls will be on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas.
