LOGAN, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV men’s basketball team (11-10, 5-5) battled all the way back from a 16-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 56 apiece with 5:50 to play, but ended up being defeated 76-71 at Utah State (19-2, 9-1) on Wednesday night.
Dedan Thomas Jr. led all players with a season-high-tying 22 points and six assists for the Runnin’ Rebels. Jaden Henley and Jalen Hill each scored 16 points with Henley recording a game-high six rebounds and Hill collecting five boards and three steals.
The Aggies had five players score in double figures, led by Deyton Albury’s 16 points and Drake Allen’s 15, while three tallied five rebounds each.
TURNING POINT: After Hill’s and-1 tied the game with 5:50 to play, UNLV only made one field goal over the next five minutes as Utah State took a 10-point lead (69-59).
STAT OF THE GAME: Utah State’s bench scored 37 points to just four from UNLV’s reserves.
QUOTABLE: “This is a tough place to win. It is an unbelievable venue. For the guys to battle from 16 down, when it would have been very easy to give up and lay down, they just continued to fight. I’m not a moral victory guy. I won’t sleep, I won’t eat, I won’t feel good about it, but when I watch the film, I’m going to take the positives of the things we did well and the things that we can build on, because we’ve proven we’re a good team in this conference. We’ve just been on the short end of some of these really tough games. There’s no shame to lose to Utah State in Logan, but now it’s how do we get up off the mat? How do we react? How do we respond tomorrow? Because it’s a very quick turnaround (to our next game at UNR).” – UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger
OTHER NOTES:
– UNLV has lost its last three games by a combined nine points.
– It was UNLV’s seventh straight loss in Logan and eighth in the last nine meetings at the Spectrum.
– UNLV shot just 4 of 20 on 3-pointers (20.0%), but made 82.6% of its free-throw attempts (19 of 23).
– Both teams shot at least 50% in the second half. UNLV was 15 of 30 (50.0%), while Utah State made 55.0% (11 of 20).
– Utah State built its 16-point lead with 8:41 left in the first half after a 13-0 run.
– Utah State was just 19 of 31 at the free-throw line (61.3%).
– Thomas Jr. was 8 of 13 from the field and Henley was 7 of 12, while Hill made 8 of 9 free throws.
– Utah State held a slight edge in rebounding, 34-32.
– UNLV led in points in the paint (36-30) and second-chance points (13-8), while Utah State led in fast-break points (11-0).
– Utah State held a 33-24 halftime lead.
– UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,248 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN’ REBELS: UNLV will play its second straight game on the road on Saturday, Feb. 1 at UNR. The 7 p.m. game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
TICKETS: Tickets to UNLV men’s basketball home games at the Thomas & Mack Center may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-3267 or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.
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