Rebels fall to Northwestern, come up empty at Arizona tourney

UNLV men’s basketball coach Kevin Kruger was adamant after the Rebels’ 22-point loss to Mississippi State on Thursday that offensive rebounding was the difference in the lopsided defeat.

Through most of Friday’s game against Northwestern, UNLV held its own on the glass. But the Rebels gave up a late offensive rebound that helped the Wildcats put the game away.

With UNLV trailing by four points, Northwestern guard Brooks Barnhizer missed a shot, but the Wildcats got the miss. Barnhizer capitalized on the second chance with a three-point play to put the Wildcats up by seven with 1:12 left.

UNLV couldn’t dig itself out of the late deficit and fell to Northwestern 66-61 in the third-place game of the Arizona Tip-Off on Friday at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. The Rebels (4-3) finished 0-2 in the tournament.

“Tonight, it was a much better approach, and there was a much healthier intent of understanding that we got to fight and compete for 40 minutes,” Kruger said in his postgame interview with Learfield Sports. “We got to figure out how to do it.”

Sophomore point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. paced UNLV with 17 points, and Oral Roberts transfer Jailen Bedford scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench.

Junior college transfer Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry started for the Rebels after missing most of the second half of their 80-58 loss to Mississippi State on Thursday night with a back injury. Cherry scored eight points and added 10 rebounds in 30 minutes Friday.

“We’re still trying to figure out lineups with everything that’s been thrown at guys,” Kruger said. “I’m really happy with everybody tonight. They went and competed and tried to get a win and did what they did when they were out there.”

Barnhizer scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Northwestern (6-2).

UNLV held a 34-33 rebounding advantage and had 13 offensive rebounds compared to Northwestern’s 12.

‘No moral victories’

UNLV had a few chances in the final minute to cut into Northwestern’s lead. The Rebels forced a turnover near midcourt, trailing by seven points with 50 seconds left.

But the Rebels failed to capitalize on the ensuing possession, as Cherry lost control of a Jalen Hill pass going up for an open dunk. After Northwestern made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end, Thomas made only 1 of 2 free throws with 30 seconds left, and the deficit remained at seven.

Northwestern shot 52 percent (13-for-25) from the floor in the second half. The Wildcats took advantage of 14 UNLV turnovers, scoring 13 points, and recorded assists on 15 of their 20 made field goals in the game.

“There’s no moral victories, and we don’t feel good right now because we know we could have played better in certain areas,” Kruger said. “We asked (Bedford) to do things tonight that he hasn’t been asked to do while we try to figure out what we need to do going forward the next six weeks while guys are still injured.”

Senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. and junior guards Jaden Henley and Jace Whiting remain sidelined with injuries.

‘Going to keep working’

Northwestern led 26-25 at halftime, and UNLV trailed the entire second half. The Rebels twice got within one possession but couldn’t pull ahead.

First, Thomas converted a three-point play and Bedford drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Northwestern lead to 42-41 with 12:24 left. But the Wildcats answered with five quick points.

UNLV got within two points, 51-49, after Julian Rishwain hit a 3-pointer with seven minutes left. But the Rebels then went on a nearly four-minute scoring drought.

“We’re going to be a good team, but the challenge is going to be a great team,” Kruger said. “The guys have had some adversity thrown their way, so we’re going to keep working.”

Bedford scored nine straight points in the first half to keep UNLV even with Northwestern. Thomas converted a 3-point play at the end of an 11-1 run to give the Rebels a 23-16 lead with 4:54 before halftime. Northwestern closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a one-point halftime lead.

Rishwain added nine points for UNLV. Four of the eight Rebels who played scored four or fewer points. Jacob Bannarbie made his first start of the season for the Rebels and contributed four points and eight rebounds.

UNLV next plays at No. 21 Creighton on Dec. 7. The Rebels defeated Creighton 79-64 last season.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.