RUNNIN’ REBELS TO OPEN MW PLAY AT SAN JOSE STATE
Wednesday’s game scheduled for 7 p.m. at Provident Credit Union Event Center
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After recording its best non-conference record by percentage in 32 years, the UNLV men’s basketball team (11-1) will open Mountain West play at San Jose State on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Runnin’ Rebels closed out non-conference action last Thursday with a 74-63 win over previously 11-1 Southern Mississippi at the Thomas & Mack Center. It marks the first time since the 1992-93 season that UNLV lost only one non-conference contest in a season and is the Runnin’ Rebels’ best non-conference record (by percentage) since going 9-0 in 1990-91. EJ Harkless led the Runnin’ Rebels with 19 points, while Luis Rodriguez added 18 and Justin Webster contributed 12. Keshon Gilbert grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, while he, along with Harkless and Rodriguez, each had four steals.
ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returners, nine newcomers, including six transfers from the Division I level, and a total of 10 upperclassmen. The lone returning starter is 6-foot guard Jordan McCabe, who was a senior last season and returns for his fifth year for 2022-23. Other returners include 6-3 senior guard Justin Webster, 6-10 senior center David Muoka, 6-4 sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert, 6-7 senior forward Victor Iwuakor and 6-3 senior guard Cameron Burist.
The newcomers include 6-10 redshirt sophomore forward Isaiah Cottrell, who is originally from Las Vegas and transferred to UNLV from West Virginia, 6-7 freshman guard Keyshawn Hall from Cleveland, Ohio, 6-3 fifth-year guard EJ Harkless, who transferred from Oklahoma, 5-11 sophomore guard Jackie Johnson III, who transferred from Duquesne, 6-10 junior forward Karl Jones, who transferred from LA Southwest College, 6-6 sophomore guard Shane Nowell, who transferred from Arizona, 6-4 fifth-year guard Elijah Parquet, who transferred from Colorado, 6-6 senior guard Luis Rodriguez, who transferred from Ole Miss and 6-1 junior guard Nick Walters, who transferred from the College of Southern Nevada.
After 12 contests, Harkless leads the team in scoring with 15.5 ppg and is contributing 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Gilbert is second on the team in scoring with 14.0 ppg, while shooting 50.5% from the field and 51.4% on 3-pointers, while averaging 3.8 assists (team high) and 2.2 steals per game. Rodriguez is also averaging double figures in scoring at 12.8 ppg, while averaging 5.8 rpg and a team-leading 2.6 spg (14th in the country). David Muoka is leading the team in rebounding and blocks with 5.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: San Jose State (9-4) enters Wednesday night’s game having won three of its last four games, most recently a 65-43 home win over Cal Poly on Dec. 20. Omari Moore leads the Spartans in scoring this season with 13.9 ppg, while Sage Tolbert, who is averaging 9.9 ppg, is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.2 rpg (2nd in the MW). Moore also leads the team in assists with 4.5 apg and steals with 0.9 spg, while Ibrahima Diallo is the team’s leading shot blocker with 2.2 bpg (leads the MW). SJSU is the MW’s leader in rebounding margin at +10.31 per game, ranking sixth in the country. It is also among the top 50 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 39.3. The Spartans finished the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 8-23, finishing last in the MW’s standings with a 1-17 league mark. This season’s team was picked to finish 10th out of 11 in the MW’s preseason poll. The Spartans’ 16-man roster includes just six upperclassmen. SJSU is coached by Tim Miles, who is in his second season at the school with a record of 17-27 (.386) and is in his 26th season overall as a head coach with a career mark of 416-361 (.535).
BROADCAST INFO: Wednesday’s game will be broadcast online on the Mountain West Network. Jon Sandler, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield (sidelines) will handle the UNLV radio call, which may be heard live on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats will be available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.
