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For the second straight game, UNLV had no answer on the defensive end for its opponent resulting in a second straight loss for the program as it leaves Florida winless.
The Runnin’ Rebels were thrashed, 82-65, by the Richmond Spiders Tuesday, Nov. 21 from Daytona Beach, Florida. With the win, Richmond claimed third place in the Beach Bracket of this year’s Sunshine Slam.
“Unfortunate,” head coach Kevin Kruger said. “Slow start kind of hurt us. We have a few days where we can go and figure some things out and get ready for next week.”
In addition, the loss drops UNLV to under .500 for the second time through the first five games of the season. Sitting at 2-3 on the year, the Rebels will look to rebound at home when they take on the Akron Zips Tuesday, Nov. 28 from the Thomas & Mack Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’re just going to go back and take care of our priorities,” freshman guard Dedan Thomas Jr. said. “Take care of the little nagging injuries and stuff.”
Winding up with the same result, UNLV started the game the exact same way it did yesterday against Florida State. In this one, Richmond raced out to an 11-0 run while holding its opponent without a make on its first 11 field goal tries.
The Rebels fell behind by 14 points in the first half before the Spiders pushed it to 15 points with less than two minutes left in the first half. At one point, the deficit was cut to eight in a game where UNLV never held the lead.
Short scoreless droughts of two-plus minutes in the first half and again in the second half continued to widen the hole for the Rebs to climb out of.
Much like the game against Florida State, Richmond was red-hot from the field to the tune of 60% from the floor versus just 39% for UNLV. In addition, the Spiders won the points in the paint battle with a final mark of +12.
Bad shooting was a theme for the Rebels on the night but the erratic three-point shooting numbers in the first half were leveled out in the second. After shooting 1-for-12 from deep in the first half, the team added six makes on 13 tries in the second half.
Defense continued to handicap this defensive-principled program during this trip to Florida. Richmond made 11 straight field goals at one point during the second half. In two games during the Sunshine Slam, UNLV allowed its opponents to shoot a combined 55-for-106 from the field or 52% in 80 total minutes.
“Of course, there’s some things that stand out,” Kruger said. “We’ve got to get together, see it and of course, make some minor adjustments but like I said we’ve got a couple of days here to figure some things out.”
From his reserve role, junior guard Jackie Johnson III led the team in scoring with 17 points on the heels of 14 points in the second half. On a night where the Rebels shot 7-for-25 from three-point range, Johnson accounted for five makes in his seven attempts from deep. As a result, he helped his team win the bench points battle 35-20.
“Jackie’s made as big of a jump as one guy can make in terms of what we’ve asked from one year to this point,” Kruger said. “From an individual standpoint, he’s been great, working his tail off.”
Fifth-year forward Kalib Boone added 14 points of his own on 6-for-8 from the field. This season, he is shooting a career-high 70% from the floor through four games.
Fellow fifth-year forward Jalen Hill chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds, which tied for the game-high.
UNLV lost the second half by just two points after going into the halftime locker room down 15 points.
“Unfortunately tonight, too much of the offense was just manufactured individually,” Kruger said. “When you’re trying to cut into a lead, you get it down to 12, you get it down to 14 or whatever it is but it’s usually just because somebody goes and makes a shot. So it’s not really ever a real threat. We’ve just got to keep working to create opportunities for each other.”
Fifth-year guard Justin Webster was cold from the floor on his way to seven points on 3-for-12 shooting including a 1-for-9-mark from deep. He made that lone three late in the second half after missing his first seven three-pointers.
Fellow fifth-year guard Luis Rodriguez had similar struggles to the tune of 3-for-11 from the floor with no makes on five three-point attempts. He finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Over the last four games, Rodriguez is shooting 16-for-44 from the field or 36%.
“It’s not expected,” Kruger said of any future lineup changes. “But we had some guys that hadn’t played a ton play well tonight but at the end of the day, we’ve just got to figure some things out. We’ve got to sit down – it’s not a ‘Come to Jesus meeting’ but we’ve just got to understand what we need to do as a group, top-to-bottom, to get some wins.”