Game Recap: Runnin Rebels vs UCLA

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Runnin’ Rebels (1-3) vs UCLA Bruins (3-0)

 

Junior forward Donnie Tillman scorer a game-high 18 points, but it still was not enough as UNLV suffered their third straight loss against UCLA 71-54.

Runnin’ Rebel team captains Amauri Hardy and Elijah Mitrou-Long both scored 13 pts. Sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton also contributed in double figures with 10 pts. Tillman, Hardy, Mitrou-Long, and Hamilton are the only players on the team that scored a single point. No one else was able to get on the board. UNLV shot 38.6% (25-57) from the field, including 30.4% (7-23) from three.

Their defense was not at its best either, allowing the Bruins to go on a 14-0 run early in the game to take a commanding 19-5 lead. UCLA never looked back after that, with their largest lead being at 22. The Rebels also lost the battle on the boards, being out-rebounded 35-27. The one positive in this game is that UNLV had fewer turnovers than they did in the last few games, and they actually had less than the Bruins. UNLV had 15, while UCLA had 17.

The Bruins were led by junior guard Chris Smith who scored 16 pts and grabbed 8 reb. Tyger Campbell and Prince Ali were also in double figures with 15 and, 14 pts respectively.

“We can’t come out like that ever again,” Hardy said. “We got to continue to play hard. We got to throw that first punch. Tonight, they threw that first punch and we were trailing the whole game.”

 

“Our guys, I felt like we kept competing,” said UNLV head coach TJ Otzelberger. “We probably hit a wall with about eight minutes left, where we were just out of gas truthfully. But I felt like they continued fighting and competing, even though we were a little bit overmatched.” After playing in back-to-back road games against Pac 12 Conference opponents, the Runnin’ Rebels are looking to learn from these losses and use it as they prepare to head back home for four straight games at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“To learn from it, we wanted to play a challenging schedule,” Otzelberger said. “We have done that, we’re coming off three straight power five games, with two on the road. Now we get to go back to our home court and play in front of our fans.”

UNLV will play the first of their four straight home games on Monday, Nov. 18 at 7 pm against Abilene Christian.

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Isaiah Torres

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