Runnin Rebels vs New Mexico

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Runnin’ Rebels (13-14, 8-6) | New Mexico Lobos (17-10, 6-8)

 

UNLV bounced back from the UNR loss, to beat New Mexico on the road last night, 78-73.

 

The Runnin’ Rebels were led by sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton and senior guard Elijah Mitrou-Long, who both scored 17 points. Hamilton shot 7-13 (53.8%) from the field and has now scored in double-figures in 14 straight games, showing why he is the team’s current leading scorer for the season averaging 15.2 points per game. Mitrou-Long was 7-15 (46%) from the floor, including 3-5 (60%) from three. He is continuing to find his rhythm since returning back from a broken left thumb injury that sidelined him for 12 games.

Junior guard Amauri Hardy and sophomore guard Marvin Coleman were right behind them with both 16 points each. Hardy shot 7-16 (43.7%) from the field, continuing to add to his 14,1 points per game this season. Coleman shot a perfect 6-6 from the floor, including being 4-4 from behind the arc.

For the Lobos, it was Makuach Maluach who scored a game-high 19 points on 6-7 (85.7%) shooting. Senior forward Corey Manigault and redshirt junior point guard Keith McGee both contributed with 17 and 11 points, respectively.

Heading into this game, the Rebels were a dismal 2-8 with games on the road and coming off a tough overtime loss against UNR. On the other side of things, New Mexico has only lost one game at home so far this season with a record of 14-1. So it was safe to say that the odds were definitely in the Lobos’ favor to get the win. However, UNLV was able to beat the odds and pull off the tough road victory in another close game in “The Pit”.

 

“We talked to our guys a lot about bouncing back and being together,” said Runnin’ Rebels head coach TJ Otzelberger. “We really worked the last couple of days on confidence and shooting the basketball.”

 

The Rebels found themselves in another back and forth close game that included 17 lead changes and 10 ties. With about 20 seconds left in the game, Mitrou-Long was able to steal the ball on the Lobos’ possession, which led to Hardy getting fouled and hitting two free throws to extend their lead. After New Mexico missed a game-tying three-pointer on the following possession, Hamilton was able to get fouled and knock down a pair of free throws to put a stamp on the final score of 78-73.

The fact that UNLV was able to knock down four straight free throws in crunch time is very impressive since they are coming off a game where they missed 13 total free throws as a team. The Runnin’ Rebels actually shot 7-14 (50%) from the free-throw line in this game. Not only did they shoot 50% from the charity stripe, but they also shot 50% (32-64) from the floor as a whole. Both teams had one player who received a technical foul, Mitrou-Long for the Rebels and Zane Martin for the Lobos.

 

With the Runnin’ Rebels leaving Albuquerque with a win, they can now carry that momentum back home with them where they are 10-6 and prepare for their next game against Colorado State.

 

In their first meeting, UNLV lost in a blowout to CSU, 77-95. Hamilton scored the team-high 28 points for the Rebels, as Isaiah Stevens led the way for the Rams with 21 points. Now more than two weeks later, UNLV will look to get their record back to .500 as they meet CSU inside the Thomas & Mack Center. Let’s “Pack the Mack” Las Vegas!

 

Buy Runnin’ Rebel tickets here

 

The Runnin’ Rebels play against Colorado State on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 pm. The game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network and can be listened to live on ESPN Radio 1100 AM.

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Isaiah Torres

Twitter: Isaiah_Torres24

 

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