UNLV doesn’t have enough to hang with Northwestern, leaves Arizona Tip-Off winless

UNLV just couldn’t catch up with a solid Northwestern team in the second half. As a result, the program winds up leaving its lone regular season tournament chance winless.

The Runnin’ Rebels dropped the third place game of the Arizona Tip-off to the Northwestern Wildcats, 66-61, Friday, Nov. 29. As a result, the team would leave the two-day tournament without a win.

Head coach Kevin Kruger’s Rebels are now 4-3 on the year with losses coming to the Memphis Tigers, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and now the Northwestern Wildcats.

The program’s first true road game is next on the schedule. UNLV will travel to take on Creighton Saturday, Dec. 7 with tip-off set for 1 p.m.

Senior Jailen Bedford cashed in on a three-pointer with 1:43 left in regulation. That three trimmed the deficit to four points but it would serve as the team’s last made field goal of the night.

For the first time this season, Bedford didn’t start but it would provide instant offense off the bench. He rattled off four straight points as part of a 6-0 run in the first half.

That stretch would be pushed to nine straight points for the Austin, Texas product on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting stint.

Bedford hit another three in the second half to cross over into double-figures as he cut the Northwestern lead to one. By the final buzzer, he’d tally 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting with three made threes.

Teammate Julian Rishwain, who made his first start of the season, connected on back-to-back trey balls soon after.

Both Bedford and Rishwain accounted for all six made threes for the Rebels on their 18 attempts. The Wildcats countered with eight makes in the same 18 tries.

Junior forward Bear Cherry returned to action after leaving the team’s last outing with a back injury. Though in uniform and on the court, he didn’t appear to be his normal self.

For the first time this season, he missed his first field goal attempt of the game. In fact, he missed the first two as part of a 0-for-3 first half from the field.

Cherry wouldn’t make his first field goal until more than four minutes into the second half. He’d finish with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.

UNLV was led early, as it often is, by sophomore standout Dedan Thomas Jr. He scored the first six points of the game for the team on his way to 10 first half points.

Thomas would close the night with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-16 from the floor. His playmaking was limited as he recorded just two assists versus five of the team’s 14 turnovers.