FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs Utah State - Game 12

Photo Credit: Daily Advent

FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs Utah State – Game 12

UNLV (6-6) vs. Utah State (12-5)

UNLV takes the first of two against Utah State in late game thriller.

The Runnin’ Rebels win their 5^th straight game by defeating the visiting Utah State Aggies by a score of 59 to 56. This win puts UNLV with a 6-6 record and at .500 on the season for the first time since they started the season 0-0. Utah State now drops to 12-5 after losing their second straight Mountain West Conference game.

Bryce Hamilton plays an all around great game leading UNLV to the win at home.

It wasn’t the best shooting night for both teams, even for Bryce Hamilton. Despite Hamilton shooting 4-16, he did everything for UNLV. He finished with 14 points draining 4 three-pointers, he had 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and contributed 5 steals on the defensive side of the ball. UNLV had 13 steals as a team against the Aggies on Monday. David Jenkins also contributed 14 points while Moses Wood got a start and dropped 10 points.

It was not a great bench performance from either side as Utah State only had 4 bench points and UNLV had 8, all coming from Nicquel Blake. For the Aggies, Junior guard Marco Anthony was their top performer. He had 18 points tagged along with 9 rebounds. Utah State only had one player score at least 10 points and that was Jimmy Bean who finished with exactly 10.

The entirety of the first half was played back forth from both sides as each team each had their largest lead at only 5. That is what UNLV carried into the second half, with a 39-34 lead. The second half was similar in the fact that it was back and forth and evenly played out, however, it was different from the first half due to the lack of scoring from both sides. Utah State was held to 22 points in the second half while UNLV was held to 20. It was the lowest amount scored in a single half for both teams all season.

After a few late buckets from Nicquel Blake and then a three-pointer from Caleb Grill, all of sudden UNLV had a 10 point lead with about 4 minutes remaining. The Runnin’ Rebels led by 7 with just over a minute remaining in the game. The final minute contained a lot of free throws divided amongst both teams and it resulted in Utah State getting one last shot attempt down by 3. Steven Ashworth attempted a three that ended up being blocked by Moses Wood giving UNLV the victory over their conference opponents.

These teams will battle it out again on Wednesday as UNLV will look to go a perfect 6 in 6 during their homestand.

The Runnin’ Rebels have been very impressive since returning home after two straight road losses to Colorado State. They will look to cap off this homestand by winning their 6^th straight, sweeping the two games against Utah State, and going above .500 for the first time this season. Utah State will be trying to stop a skid of their own as they have lost two straight games after winning their previous 10 games before that. Both teams will look to be better offensively in the second game.

For the Aggies, they will look to shoot the ball better from beyond the arc. They were 5-22 on Monday night. UNLV made 8 more three-pointers than Utah State did and it was a big reason they held on to the win. For the Runnin’ Rebels, their defensive performances in the past few games have been very encouraging. Coming out against a team like Utah State and performing the way that they did is only going to have Coach TJ Otzelberger and fans smiling. They will look to do it again on Wednesday when they host Utah State for the second time at the Thomas and Mack.