UNLV rallies for victory over Fresno State
In Wednesday’s loss to Fresno State, UNLV’s offense bogged down at crunch time.
On Friday, the Rebels got the job done on the other end of the floor. UNLV allowed one field goal in the final 10:04 and held on for a 68-67 win and two-game series split when Anthony Holland’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed off the side of the rim.
Caleb Grill scored 18 points to lead UNLV, which trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half. Bryce Hamilton had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Hamilton’s short jumper in the lane with 4:41 left put the Rebels up for good, but it remained close the rest of the way.
Mbacke Diong, who had eight points, six rebounds and four assists, got the Rebels rolling in the second half with a steal and emphatic dunk nine seconds in.
“Proud of our guys,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Coming out in that second half, we talked about energy, enthusiasm and passion. Mbacke’s steal and dunk really got us going.”
David Jenkins scored two free throws and a driving floater, both of which gave UNLV (11-12, 8-8 Mountain West) a three-point lead, but Fresno State’s Isaiah Hill had a chance to tie the game with 39 seconds remaining when he was fouled on a 3-pointer.
Hill missed the first and made the next two, leaving UNLV leading by one and with the ball. Jenkins missed a jumper with eight seconds left after a ragged offensive possession, which gave Fresno State one final chance.
“I feel like down the stretch, even though it still wasn’t perfect, it was as together as we’ve been as a team,” Otzelberger said. “I could tell in the huddle that guys felt good about how they were playing together.”
Junior Ballard led Fresno State (10-10, 8-10) with 17 points, and Orlando Robinson added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Jenkins a starter again
Jenkins, the Rebels’ second-leading scorer, was back in the starting lineup, with Otzelberger hoping he would provide an offensive spark.
He missed his first five shots but scored all eight of his points in the second half, including four down the stretch. He also led the Rebels with five assists.
Jenkins had come off the bench for the past seven games, since Otzelberger criticized his defensive effort in a 72-62 loss to UNR on Feb. 3.
2. Fresno State’s 3s stop falling
Fresno State entered the game as the Mountain West’s second-worst 3-point shooting team at 30.7 percent, but was 8 of 14 on 3s in the first half.
The Rebels shut that down after halftime, as the Bulldogs were 2 of 7 and didn’t make one in the final 15:35. UNLV was 8 of 21 on 3-pointers after struggling to a 3-of-15 mark Wednesday.
“I thought for maybe the first 16 minutes of the game, we came out lackadaisical,” Grill said. “The last 24 minutes, we brought it together and got a lot of stops down the stretch.”
3. Free throws nearly save Fresno State
While the Bulldogs’ offense was almost completely shut down in the final 10 minutes, the Bulldogs stayed in the game from the foul line.
Hill’s late miss was their only one during that span, when they were 12 of 13, and two from Ballard gave the Bulldogs a 63-60 lead with 5:41 left.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
