FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs San Jose State - Game 20

Photo Credit: Bleacher Report

FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs San Jose State – Game 20

UNLV (9-11) vs. San Jose State (5-14)

The Runnin’ Rebels defeat the San Jose Spartans behind Bryce Hamilton’s 18 points.

UNLV defeated the Spartans by a score of 76-60 on Friday night. Thus, improving their record to 9-11 on the season. The win broke their 6 game road losing streak as they have struggled away from Las Vegas this season. The Runnin’ Rebels had four players score double digits that led them to the 16 point victory.

The Runnin’ Rebels aren’t a team that wins via blowouts, as even against subpar competition, they tend to wait until the second half to really take off and expose the other team’s weaknesses. This game was no different as the second half is where UNLV really took off.

UNLV uses a big second half to cruise to their 9th win of the season.

It was only a slim 3 point lead for UNLV at halftime, leading 35-32. However, the second half was dominated by the Runnin’ Rebels. UNLV outscored San Jose State 41-28 in the latter half. They were led by star player Bryce Hamilton who finished with 18 points on 9-17 shooting. Devin Tillis got a start on Friday and was very efficient, scoring 14 points on 6-7 shooting. A big difference in the game for both sides was production off the bench. UNLV had two players, Moses Wood and David Jenkins, who scored double-digit points off the bench. Jenkins had 16 as he continues to shine since moving to the bench. Moses Wood had 11 points and shot 100% from the field.

San Jose State got zero points from their bench. They were outscored 29-0 in bench points. They had 7 different players come into the game off the bench, and not one of them got a bucket. Instead, their points scored were mainly divided amongst 3 players. Senior Ralph Agee led the team with 18 points on 8-10 shooting. Both Trey Smith and Richard Washington finished with 15 points, and both of them drilling 3 three-pointers. Those three players combined for 48 of the Spartans 60 points.

UNLV dominated the glass the entire game as Bryce Hamilton and Nicquel Blake was forced on the boards. UNLV outrebounded San Jose State 42-26.

UNLV looks to win a second consecutive road game and sweep San Jose State.

UNLV has had an inconsistent season so far, and as the season comes to a close, they will want to end it strong. Failing to win two out of two games against this San Jose State team would be viewed as a huge disappointment.

To win again on Sunday, UNLV will need to continue to dominate the glass down low. Getting second-chance points and limiting second-chance points for the opposition is crucial in every game. San Jose State will need to get scoring from more than just their three main players if they want any chance in this one.

“Our freshmen had good games today and stepped up. Devin in his first start was tremendous, and Nick had a good floor game. As we move forward as a team, I’m really hoping to see this group’s best. Night in and night out we see it from some, but I’m hoping we can all put it together as a group, and hopefully, that’s still in front of us. Tonight, there were too many moments where our focus wasn’t where it needed to be at the time it needed to be, and we continued to let them be in the game. Hopefully, we can clean that up and get everybody operating on all cylinders.” – UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

UNLV wraps up this road trip looking to go 2-2 before returning home to host the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Notes:

UNLV shot 56.4% from the field for the game (31 of 55), improving its record to 7-1 this season when it is at 50% or better.
The Runnin’ Rebels limited SJSU to just 36.1% from the field (22 of 61).
UNLV recorded its first road win of the Mountain West season.
The Runnin’ Rebels had 10 first-half turnovers, finishing the game with a season-high-tying 18.
UNLV outscored SJSU in points in the paint, 38-24.
It was SJSU’s first true home game of the season as the pandemic forced it to play its previous home contests out of state in Phoenix.
UNLV improved its record against SJSU to 42-6 all-time and 18-4 against the Spartans in San Jose.
UNLV has now won seven straight against SJSU and four in a row at the Event Center.
UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in an NCAA-record 1,122 straight games.

The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels comfortably defeat the San Jose Spartans, will look for the sweep on Sunday. That game will be at 1:00 on CBSSN.

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-Jarret Thompson – Franchise Sports Media

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