‘Disappointed’: Missed free throw dooms Rebels to defeat — PHOTOS
Dedan Thomas Jr. will be performing a familiar ritual after missing a crucial free throw in the UNLV men’s basketball team’s 75-73 loss to New Mexico on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
But this time, the star point guard will try to forget the events that unfolded when he went to the line with 1.3 seconds remaining and the Rebels trailing 74-72.
He made the first free throw with perfect form, only to be interrupted by Lobos coach Richard Pitino calling a timeout. Thomas asserted after the loss that the 30-second break didn’t ice him for the second shot, which hit the back of the rim and ricocheted back out.
“I just missed it,” he said, with his tone low and eyes red.
New Mexico’s Nelly Joseph was fouled with less than a second to play and made one free throw to provide the final margin for the Mountain West leader.
Donovan Dent scored 34 points for the Lobos (17-4, 9-1), and Joseph added 22.
“Disappointed. But I’ll be back in the gym tomorrow getting up 100 free throws,” Thomas said.
It’s a usual routine for Thomas, who led the Rebels (11-9, 5-4) with 18 points and seven assists.
Julian Rishwain added 16, and offered a firsthand account in Thomas’ defense as he sat next to him at the podium.
“At the end of practice, every single time, D.J. and some other guys are always the last dudes in the gym shooting free throws,” Rishwain said. “And I know how serious he takes it.”
Saturday marked back-to-back close losses for the Rebels. Thomas also missed a clutch shot in the team’s 63-61 loss to Wyoming on Tuesday, a jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it.
Not all on D.J.
Thomas entered Saturday’s game as a 73 percent free-throw shooter. He was flawless at the line in the Rebels’ upset victory over San Diego State on Jan. 18, going 10-for-10 en route to his 19 points.
“I wouldn’t even blame it on D.J. at the end,” Rishwain said. “I think we all as a team were missing free throws, and it shouldn’t have just come down to D.J. missing that one. … D.J. works on them more than anybody. He’s the guy we want at the line at the end of the game.”
With around two minutes left, the Rebels went three consecutive possessions without scoring as the Lobos led by two.
The stretch also featured a couple of pivotal turnovers by UNLV. Thomas threw the ball away on a bad pass but got bailed out when Filip Borovicanin was charged with an offensive foul on a fast break that sent him out of the game.
That was followed by Jaden Henley attempting to get the ball to Thomas on an outlet pass gone awry. In a mixup, Henley sent the ball out of bounds to give it right back to the Lobos with 43 seconds left to play.
After the Rebels got a stop, Rishwain had a chance to put them ahead with a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds but missed. Freshman center Pape N’Diaye snagged the rebound. The ball eventually got back to Thomas, setting up his fateful free throws.
So many fouls
Rishwain was able to list so many missed free throws from the Rebels because there were a whopping 40 fouls in the game (UNLV 18, New Mexico 22). The Lobos were 16-for-24 at the line, and the Rebels were 19-for-29.
When asked whether the frequent trips to the free-throw line should be attributed to the pace or physicality, Kruger said, “probably a little bit of both.”
“More possessions than a usual game,” he added. “It’s just one of those things that I think is (from) both teams competing and battling, and that sometimes that leads to more fouls.”
Ultimately, Kruger maintained a positive outlook from the loss.
“Proud of the way they fought,” he said. “Proud of that effort, the energy that was there. Need that at a baseline to beat a team like New Mexico, give yourself a chance… But just because you play hard, it doesn’t always go your way.”
UNLV next plays at Utah State (18-2, 8-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Logan, Utah.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
