FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs Utah State - Game 27

FSM Essential Recap: UNLV vs Utah State – Game 27 Mountain West Tournament Round 2

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UNLV (12-15) vs. Utah State (19-7)

 

The Runnin’ Rebels fall to Utah State, ending their season. 

 

UNLV played the Utah State Aggies in the second round of the Mountain West tournament after defeating Air Force convincingly in the first round. This game, however, was the complete opposite. A big second half from the Aggies gave them a 74-53 victory over the Runnin’ Rebels. Thus, ending the season for UNLV as they finished with an overall record of 12-15.

Utah State will advance to play Colorado State in the semi-finals on Friday. The Aggies shot 55.9% from the field in the second half (19 of 34) and outscored the Runnin’ Rebels 50-29 over the final 20 minutes

 

 

UNLV could not keep up with the Utah State offense in the second half. 

 

The Runnin’ Rebels scored 24 points in the first half of this game, the lowest amount all season for them. Despite that, they limited Utah State to only 24 points as well and it was a tied game going into the halftime break. The second half was completely different as the Aggies scored 50 points, outscoring UNLV by 21 points in the half.

UNLV was not as efficient shooting the basketball as they were on Wednesday against Air Force as they only shot 32% last night. Bryce Hamilton led the way with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Hamilton did not get much help offensively. Junior Edoardo Del Cadia provided 10 points off the bench, with 6 of them coming from the free-throw line. The Runnin’ Rebels did not get much from David Jenkins, and it hurt them. Maybe their hottest player coming into the game; however, it did not carry into this game. He shot 1-13 from the field, missing all 7 of his three-point attempts. He finished with only 5 points.

For Utah State, 4 of their 5 starters finished with above ten points in the game. Two players finished with double-doubles in points and rebounds. Neemias Queta led the way with 18 points, 10 of them coming at the free-throw line. He shot 12 of the team’s 15 free throws in the game. He also contributed 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Marco Anthony finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Aggies as well.

Rebounding was a big key coming into this game as UNLV usually dominates the game when they dominate the glass as a lot of teams do. Utah State came in as the 15th team in the nation in rebounding with 40 per game. They showed why Thursday night. They outrebounded UNLV 45-32 as Marco Anthony also had 6 offensive rebounds.

 

This ends the season for UNLV.

 

UNLV finished their season with a blowout loss to one of the top teams in the Mountain West. Something that happened way too much during this 2020-2021 season. UNLV finished 12-15 overall and were inconsistent the entire season. The Runnin’ Rebels had many moments of optimism and hope for a better future that fans, players, and coaches will look to build off. This season, UNLV was average and could not get over the hump against some of the top teams in the Mountain West. Bryce Hamilton was a leader and had a good year for UNLV as he earned second-team All-Mountain West. David Jenkins had very impressive games in his first year in the Scarlette and Gray. They got impressive seasons out of freshman Devin Tillis and Nicquel Blake. The season did not end how the team or fans wanted it to, but there were some signs to build off as head coach TJ Otzelberger will head into his third season.

 “We knew tonight to be successful that we were going to have to be the more physical team. I felt like our guys really answered that call in the first half. I thought we had great ball pressure and hand pressure, and did an excellent job defensively. We talked about and emphasized the importance of those first two minutes after the half and that we needed to get stops. They converted on nine out of 10 out of the locker room, and we put ourselves in a deficit that we were chasing the whole second half. I was proud of our guys for how they came out, but to beat a really good team like Utah State, you have to sustain it for 40 minutes. Unfortunately, we were not able to do that tonight.”  UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger told reporters after the game.

 

Notes:

 

UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                       UNLV vs Utah State                                                               

-Jarret Thompson – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Jarret on Twitter @Jarret_2T 

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