New Mexico defeated UNLV 81-67 inside The Pit to claim the Mountain West regular-season title and the No. 1 overall seed going into conference tournament week next week in Las Vegas.
UNLV came into the contest already short-handed without Dedan “DJ” Thomas Jr. The Runnin’ Rebels fell to New Mexico in their previous matchup 75-73 when the Lobos came to Las Vegas.
It was senior night for the Lobos in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,000. UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger sent out the usual starting lineup in the absence of Thomas.
Neither team had much on the line, with both teams locked into their conference tournament seeds.
UNLV sits in sixth place in the Mountain West, and this game was more reps for the new starting lineup.
Julian Rishwain started the first half right where he left off after scoring a career-high 26 points against San Diego State. The senior transfer scored eight points in the first six minutes before going down with an apparent knee injury, falling and grabbing his left knee.
Rishwain was helped off the court and would not return to the game. He was on the bench, wearing a knee brace on his left knee. This left UNLV even more short-handed.
UNLV kept the game despite having six players in and out of the rotation. It was a back-and-forth effort between both teams until later in the first half, when UNLV pulled away, taking a seven-point lead, 30-23.
New Mexico stars Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph kept the Lobos in rhythm. New Mexico scored 56 points out of their 81 in the paint. The Lobos went into halftime with the lead, 40-38.
UNLV forward Jalen Hill and guard Jaden Henley carried the load for the Runnin’ Rebels. In the first half, Henley continued his stretch leading the offense, now weaning into the team’s ball handler. Henley took the ball inside and made some tough finishes to keep the offensive momentum moving for UNLV.
The second half picked up right where the first half left off. Both teams exchanged shots and defensive stands. Despite the lack of depth, the Runnin’ Rebels hung around with the Lobos. The game consisted of 17 total lead changes.
It wasn’t until around the six-minute mark that New Mexico started to pull away. The Lobos finished the game on a 16-3 run to secure the win.
“We competed like crazy. This is a tough place to come in and play and a tough place to come in and get wins. A handful of guys went 40 minutes and competed as hard as they could for 40 of those minutes,” Kruger said. “It was tough, and fatigue kicked in, but that’s going to happen in the situation that we were in. We had a lot of fight and made a lot of great plays. We will turn our attention now and get ready for the next one.”
Hill and Henley played the entire 40 minutes, and Brooklyn Hicks and Jailen Bedford both logged 36 minutes.
At one point in the game, Hicks went down with an ankle injury but shook off a substitution by Kruger. The next play, Hicks recorded a steal and sprinted with a hobble down the court for a fast break, where he drew the foul, putting a show of heart on full display.
Hill led the team in scoring with 16 points. Cherry and Henley both scored 14 points, and Bedford supported with 10 points.
Joseph led New Mexico in scoring with 26 points and 16 rebounds on the night. Dent scored 20 points, and Tru Washington scored 19 points. The Lobos shot 53.4% from the field.
Rishwain’s status is still unknown for UNLV. The Runnin’ Rebels are already short at the guard position and may be heading into the conference tournament even more scarce in guard play.
“We all love him,” Hill said postgame about Rishwain. “He’s been ballin, so we are all going to be praying for him, and if he needs anybody we’re all going to be there.”
UNLV finishes the regular season 17-14 overall and 11-9 in conference play. Kruger records his fourth consecutive regular season with a record over .500 in his four-year tenure.
Going into the conference tournament as the sixth seed, UNLV will play Fresno State or Air Force in the six versus 11 matchup, pending the outcome of their final games in conference play. UNLV has not made it past the second round of the tournament since 2016.
