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It was a spirited effort by a shorthanded UNLV roster but the team produced undoubtedly its biggest win of the season.
The Runnin’ Rebels beat the Colorado State Rams, 88-74, Friday, Jan. 28 from Moby Arena, where CSU had yet to lose a game this season.
Coming into the game, Colorado State was ranked No. 22 in the coaches poll.
UNLV was 1-4 on the road prior to this game and 0-1 on the current road trip.
Now, the Rebels have a 12-9 overall record and are 4-4 in the Mountain West.
A return to the Thomas & Mack Center is next for UNLV as it prepares to welcome in-state rival Nevada – Reno for the Silver State Series.
Gameday is Tuesday, Feb. 1 with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Senior Marvin Coleman and juniors Donovan Williams and Josh Baker all missed the game for various reasons ranging from illness to concussion protocol.
Head coach Kevin Kruger said before the game that leading scorer Bryce Hamilton may be tasked with shouldering more of the scoring load.
Already having averaged more than 28.3 points per game on 51% shooting over the last three games, it was unknown how much more he could take.
Apparently, a lot more.
Hamilton scored a career-high 45 points on 12-of-21 from the field including eight made three-pointers, which is also a career-high.
In the first half, Hamilton’s hot three-point shooting allowed UNLV to build a lead as large as 12.
Later in the half, the team used an 11-0 run to push the lead to 16 and eventually 19 points, the largest of the first half.
Hamilton scored 21 points in the first half but would one-up himself in the second 20-minute session.
As his scoring total grew, as did the Rebels’ lead.
When Hamilton reached the 30-point threshold, Colorado State was at 39 points as a team.
At that moment, Hamilton secured his fourth 30-point game of the season and third in four games.
He has five 30-point games in his career.
His 45 points are the second-most points scored in Division-I college basketball this season, three points shy of tying the highest mark this year.
As a team, UNLV is 11-0 when outrebounding its opponent including this game.
The Rebels beat the Rams on the boards, 37-28, with four players pulling in six or more.
At halftime, the team was +11 in the category while holding the home team to nine total rebounds.
UNLV’s defense in the first half set the tone for a wire-to-wire win.
Colorado State was without points for the first four and a half minutes of the game.
Late in the second half, the Rams went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 14.
Colorado State would later cut the UNLV lead to 11 but that's as close as the team would get.
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