RUNNIN’ REBELS TO CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON AT WYOMING SATURDAY NIGHT
8 p.m. PT game to be televised by CBS Sports Network; UNLV has won three of its last five contests
- Game Notes at Wyoming (PDF)
- Season Stats (web) | Season Stats (pdf)
- Media Guide | Schedule
- @UNLVAthletics | @TheRunninRebels
The UNLV men’s basketball team will travel to Laramie to face Wyoming in its regular-season finale on Saturday, March 6 at 9 p.m. MT / 8 p.m. PT. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
UNLV, which has won three of its last five games, is coming off a three-game homestand where it split with Fresno State and lost to No. 19 San Diego State.
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 19 games in a 55-day span.
Coming off a tie for second place in the Mountain West standings last season, UNLV has had 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 second in the MW at 18.0 ppg. He became the 40th Runnin’ Rebel to eclipse the career 1,000-point mark and he now has scored 1,025 in a Runnin’ Rebel uniform over his three years at UNLV. He missed a couple games this season with an ankle injury, but returned on Feb. 6 vs. Air Force. He also leads in assists with 3.1 apg (10th in MW), steals with 1.3 spg (6th in MW) and field-goal percentage at .422 (10th in MW). Diong is the team’s rebounding leader (7.8 rpg, 5th in MW). Jenkins Jr., is also averaging in double figures in scoring with 15.1 ppg (11th in MW), is second in the MW in 3-point percentage (.417) and 3-pointers made (2.8 per game).
Wyoming is 12-10 overall this season and 6-9 in MW play. The Cowboys have won two of their last three games – a sweep at New Mexico (played in Colorado Springs, Colorado) and a loss at Utah State Thursday night. The team is led in scoring by Marcus Williams (15.4 ppg, 9th in MW), rebounding by Hunter Maldonado (6.7 rpg, 7th in MW) and assists by Maldonado (4.6 apg, 3rd in MW) and Williams (4.1 apg, 4th in MW).
Saturday’s television announcers will be Michael Grady and Julianne Viani-Braen. 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.
