No. 7 Nevada defeats No. 10 Fresno State
Nevada defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 86-71, setting up a second-round matchup with the No. 2 seed Colorado State.
The Wolf Pack took a commanding 32-13 lead in the first half. The Bulldogs, however, battled back and cut the lead down to 12 going into halftime. The late second-half surge saw Fresno State settle into the offense and find solid shots around the perimeter.
Nevada rebounded efficiently in the first half. The Wolf Pack outrebounded Fresno State 23-19 and scored 17 points off the second-chance efforts.
Nevada kept things physical. The Wolf Pack scored 24 of their 44 points in the first half from the paint.
Free throws helped Fresno State cut the lead down. The Bulldogs went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line in the first.
Ultimately, the second half led to more of the first. Nevada’s Kobe Sanders and Tyler Rolison continued their scoring and propelled Nevada to the 86-71 victory.
“They’ve been working, and we talk about stacking days and they’ve been doing that. We just haven’t been getting a lot of super rewards out of it,” Nevada head coach Steve Alford said postgame. “We’re banged up, and yet I think the guys have really responded in a big way, and the two guys next to me, in the last ten games, both of them have raised their level of play and Nick’s had to raise his level of play and now we’re starting to get bench production.”
No. 6 UNLV prevails against No. 11 Air Force
UNLV entered the tournament very short-handed. With the injury of Julian Rishwain against New Mexico and the still injured sophomore Dedan “DJ” Thomas Jr., UNLV had a six-man rotation against Air Force.
Head coach Kevin Kruger did not rule out Thomas, but when Thomas entered the arena with the rest of the Runnin’ Rebels inside the Thomas and Mack Center, he was not dressed for the game but rather spent the game watching from the sideline.
UNLV struggled in the first half. The Falcons zone pressure threw off the UNLV offense forcing shots and getting the Runnin’ Rebels off rhythm.
Ethan Taylor led the Falcons with 23 points on the day and kept the Falcons in the game going into halftime, leading 25-21.
UNLV hung around and did not take the lead until the team went on a 19-0 run, which put UNLV up 60-47.
More missed shots from Air Force and some UNLV free-throws solidified the 68-59 win for UNLV.
Forward Jalen Hill was the X-factor in the game playing all 40 minutes again in back-to-back outings. Hill led the team, scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in his double-double performance, propelling UNLV to the quarterfinal round.
Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry and Jailen Bedford each had 13 points and Jaden Henley scored 12 points. UNLV was so short that walk-on freshman DeMarion Yap, brother of San Jose State guard Donovan Yap, came into the game and knocked down a huge three-point shot to keep the UNLV momentum going.
“It was a good game, obviously, if you’re watching it as a fan. A lot of good plays made by both sides,” Kruger said. “But for our guys specifically, I am so proud of them and appreciative of them for continuing to fight over these last handful of weeks, no matter what comes their way. They did everything they could possibly do to be ready for this one.”
UNLV moves on to round two where they face the No. 3 seeded Utah State in the third meeting of the season between the two teams. UNLV defeated then No. 22 Utah State in Las Vegas, but the Aggies got revenge in Logan.
