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UNLV couldn’t hold on to what could’ve been a resume-building win after blowing a double-digit first half lead in a loss to Memphis.
In a matinee matchup, the Rebels lost to the Tigers, 80-74, Saturday, Nov. 9 from the
Thomas & Mack Center. The game featured two 20-win programs from last season while being led by former players in Kevin Kruger and Penny Hardaway.
It was the sixth meeting all-time between the programs while the result snapped a stretch of four straight wins for UNLV.
“Just a lack of communication,” sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr. said. “Just not being on the same page. I thought we did a pretty good job defensively in the first half and in the second half we didn’t communicate.”
Now, the Rebels are 1-1 on the year but the six-game homestand to start the season continues with a date against the Omaha Mavericks. That contest is set for Thursday, Nov. 14 from the T&M Center with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
“Great fight,” Kruger said. “But we can do things better. It’s early in the season and to play a program and a team like Memphis right now and understand they’re going to win a lot of games. But also leave knowing we can play a lot better.”
With just over six minutes left in regulation, Memphis snagged its first lead since being on top 9-7 in the early going of the game. In the final six minutes, the visitors would convert on three separate and-ones as UNLV’s offense struggled.
That allowed the Tigers to take their largest lead of the game at six. During the second half, the road team shot better than 71% in the come-from-behind victory.
“I think a couple of guys made some tough ones,” Kruger said. “We forced them into some tough makes on some possessions but they just got it going. We’ve just got to work on doing a better job of making people miss.”
Saturday’s game featured eight lead changes with five of them coming in the second half. It also featured nine ties, six coming in the second half.
“We don’t have moral victories,” Kruger said. “There’s things we can get better at which is encouraging of course. It stings, you don’t want to ever lose a game.”
UNLV found itself up 12 in the first half behind a strong defensive performance against its American Athletic Conference opponent. Memphis was held without a field goal for more than six minutes of the first 20-minute session.
Thomas scored 11 of his team-high 22 points in the first half. The Tigers attempted to stop him by throwing several defenders his way as well as face-guarding him for a good portion of the second half.
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said. “I’ve been kind of dealing with it a lot. But this year, I feel like trusting my teammates more and have more guys around me to trust that they’re going to make the right play.”
Jalen Hill added 14 points including 10 in the first half. After missing more than 20 games last season, he is back in Rebel Red following a torn ACL
“I’d say my teammates just trusted me from practice,” he said. “All of them trusting me gives me confidence to do stuff like that.”
First-year UNLV guard Jailen Bedford added 10 points of his own to become the final Rebel player in double-figures.
Junior forward Bear Cherry chipped in with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Through his first two Division-I games, he is shooting 14-for-15 from the floor.
The Achilles heel for UNLV came in the final 7:29 of regulation where the team was able to convert on just two made field goals en route to the loss.
During that time, the Rebels were outscored by 10.
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