RUNNIN’ REBELS USE SECOND-HALF SURGE TO DEFEAT SAN JOSE STATE, 76-60
Four UNLV men’s basketball players scored in double figures Friday night at Provident Credit Union Event Center
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The UNLV men’s basketball team shot almost 61% from the field in the second half and defeated San Jose State 76-60 Friday night at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
UNLV (9-11) had four players score in double figures: Bryce Hamilton (18), David Jenkins Jr. (16), Devin Tillis (14) and Moses Wood (11). Nick Blake recorded a game-high nine-rebounds, while Hamilton collected eight.
The Spartans (5-14, 3-12) were led by Ralph Agee’s 18 points, while Richard Washington and Trey Smith each scored 15.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tillis made his first career start and scored a career-high 14 points on 6 of 7 from the field. He also collected three rebounds and had two assists in 24 minutes of action.
STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 60.7% from the field after halftime (17 of 28), out-rebounded SJSU 42-26 and its bench scored 29 points to zero for the Spartans’.
CREATING SEPARATION: UNLV led by three at the break and opened the second half with a 12-4 spurt to take an 11-point lead. After SJSU cut it to four with 14 minutes to go, UNLV used a 10-2 run to increase the lead to 12 at 57-45 with 10 minutes to play. The Spartans couldn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
QUOTABLE: “Our freshmen had good games today and stepped up. Devin in his first start was tremendous and Nick had a good floor game. As we move forward as a team, I’m really hoping to see this group’s best. Night in and night out we see it from some, but I’m hoping we can all put it together as a group and hopefully that’s still in front of us. Tonight, there were too many moments where our focus wasn’t where it needed to be at the time it needed to be, and we continued to let them be in the game. Hopefully we can clean that up and get everybody operating on all cylinders.” – UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger
NOTES:
– UNLV shot 56.4% from the field for the game (31 of 55), improving its record to 7-1 this season when it is at 50% or better.
– The Runnin’ Rebels limited SJSU to just 36.1% from the field (22 of 61).
– UNLV recorded its first road win of the Mountain West season.
– The Runnin’ Rebels had 10 first-half turnovers, finishing the game with a season-high-tying 18.
– UNLV outscored SJSU in points in the paint, 38-24.
– It was SJSU’s first true home game of the season as the pandemic forced it to play its previous home contests out of state in Phoenix.
– UNLV improved its record against SJSU to 42-6 all-time and 18-4 against the Spartans in San Jose.
– UNLV has now won seven straight against SJSU and four in a row at the Event Center.
– UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,122 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN’ REBELS: UNLV will conclude its two-game Mountain West series with San Jose State on Sunday, February 21 at 1 p.m. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network, while the radio call may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas.
