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The longest win streak of the season for UNLV is now over after suffering its first loss of the season in conference play.
UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels lost to Boise State, 81-59, Tuesday, Jan. 7 from ExtraMile Arena. Last season, the team went into Idaho and ended a 22-game home win streak for the Broncos.
A loss ends a 3-0 start in Mountain West play for the Rebels. Entering play, it was a matchup of the third and fourth best teams in the conference based on record.
UNLV is now 9-6 on the season as he prepares to head home for another Mountain West test this weekend in another hostile environment. It will travel to Colorado State for a Saturday, Jan. 11 meeting from Moby Arena.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The same two main issues that have plagued UNLV this season, even in victories, reared its ugly head in the team’s lopsided loss against Boise State.
Pounding the offensive glass was the best method for the Broncos to the tune of a 7-1 offensive rebound advantage in the first half. Much of the second chance opportunities helped the team build a double-digit lead on a 10-0 run.
“We’ve, kind of, just got to wear it and take it,” head coach Kevin Kruger said. “Take the good of course with the bad. We had some good stretches of course but they had us too much on our heels.
”We’ve just got to figure out how we got to that feeling where we were on our toes and aggressive, both offensively and defensively so that we can have good results.”
Ultimately, Boise State went up by 19 points in the first half on the way to winning the rebound battle by 17. In addition, UNLV lost the offensive rebounding category by 10 en route to giving up 16 second chance points as a result.
Moreover, the Rebels committed 14 turnovers which the Broncos turned into 20 points the other way.
Despite the loss, the stat sheet didn’t look bad for UNLV in the shooting department. The team shot 43% from the field and 43% from three-point territory in this wire-to-wire loss.
At various points, UNLV went on numerous scoring stretches but the deficit was just too much to overcome. It went on a 6-0 run in the first half before muscling out an 8-0 run and 9-0 run late in the second half.
Reserve guard Jailen Bedford scored six of his 11 points in the first half. He scored those six on two made threes, two of the team’s six makes from deep.
Junior guard Jaden Henley added 10 points from his starting spot. He was the team’s first player in double-figures, reaching the mark with less than seven minutes left in regulation.
Sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 10 points while attempting to overcome some tough defense through the vast majority of the night. He shot 4-of-10 from the field while missing three of his five free throw attempts.
Thomas missed a pair of free throws near the conclusion of the first half. Boise State immediately raced down the floor, scoring a buzzer-beating layup to take a 19-point lead into the halftime break.
Junior forward Bear Cherry didn’t make his first field goal of the contest until fresh out of that halftime break. He’d finish the night with eight points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
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