The Runnin’ Rebels lost to the Creighton Blue Jays 83-65 on Saturday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. UNLV has lost its last three games, dropping to 4-4 on the season.
UNLV traveled to Nebraska’s largest city for its first true road game of the season. The contest came after the Runnin’ Rebels dropped two games in the Arizona Tip-Off event in Tempe, Arizona, against then-No. 25 Mississippi State and Northwestern.
On Saturday, the Runnin’ Rebels came out strong despite the absence of multiple key players due to injuries. Forward Rob Whaley Jr. remained out with a back injury and guard Jaden Henley missed the contest due to a foot injury. This forced head coach Kevin Kruger to dig deep into his roster and play starters longer minutes.
Dedan Thomas Jr., the sophomore guard, is the go-to scorer for UNLV. The creative guard got to the rim and continued to use screen plays to keep some sparks going for the UNLV offense against Creighton. He finished with 18 points.
The first half of the game was back and forth. Late in the first half, the Bluejays pulled away after getting some defensive stops and picking apart the UNLV defense. Creighton went into halftime up 39-27.
The first half wasn’t the best for the Rebels. Forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry found himself in foul trouble late in the first half. Cherry, one of UNLV’s top scorers, came out of the game and missed the rest of the first half.
The second half was all Creighton. The Bluejays came out firing on all cylinders. A flurry of blocks on the defensive end and baskets on the offensive end allowed Creighton to extend its lead to 22.
UNLV could not generate any flow offensively in the second half. Offensive miscues and defensive miscommunications put the Runnin’ Rebels in a hole in the second half.
It wouldn’t be until late in the second half when Jailen Bedford led UNLV on an offensive run. Bedford scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the last eight minutes of the game.
In the end, that late-game surge from UNLV wasn’t enough as the Bluejays cruised to an 18-point victory.
UNLV now looks to reload as it returns to Las Vegas for its ninth game of the season. The Runnin’ Rebels host Pacific at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT) Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
