Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Morgan earns second start at point guard

UNLV guard Jerel Blassingame's right hand still sports a large purple bruise underneath the inside of his right thumb. But even if his hand was fine, he wouldn't be starting tonight's nonconference game against Missouri at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"We made that change," Rebels coach Lon Kruger said of the switch to junior Ricky Morgan at point guard in Monday night's 57-53 loss to No. 15 Utah. "I thought Ricky did a good job. I thought we had more good possessions (against Utah) than we had in a game all year."

So Morgan, a 6-foot transfer from Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., who began his career at Iowa State, will make his second consecutive start tonight for the Rebels (9-11) against the Tigers (10-12).

Blassingame, who leads the Mountain West Conference in assists with an average of 6.25 per game and was considered by many as the top returning point guard in the conference entering the season, took the news of his demotion in stride after Tuesday afternoon's practice.

"It's coach's decision," said Blassingame, a 5-10 senior from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Was he surprised by the move?

"Nah, that's the way things work sometimes," Blassingame said. "All I can do is try and be supportive and wait until my opportunities come."

Blassingame played just 13 minutes in Monday night's loss to the Utes. Despite the sore hand, he scored nine points and had his best shooting night of the year from 3-point range, connecting on all three of his attempts.

Morgan, meanwhile, didn't score a point in 27 minutes of action. However, he had five assists and one steal while turning the ball over just once and did a good job of running the offense. An emotional defensive leader in team practices, Morgan and sophomore guard Michael Umeh also did a much better job of defending the perimeter against the Utes than Blassingame and injured Romel Beck (sore foot) did in the first meeting in Salt Lake City.

"Yeah, I was surprised (at how little playing time he got)," Blassingame admitted. "But I guess (Kruger) was looking for something different. The guys played well though, so that's a good thing."

Blassingame said he wasn't sure how he hurt his thumb in Saturday's 82-72 overtime loss to BYU.

"It just got me when I woke up (Sunday morning)," he said. "During the game the adrenaline is rushing and everything and I didn't feel it. ... It's swollen still. You can see the purple. But I've been playing hurt all year."

UNLV was blown out, 94-60, in the nationally televised game. The Rebels committed 22 turnovers and trailed by 27 points, 54-27, at halftime as the Tigers scored on 21 of 22 possessions at one point. Head coach Charlie Spoonhour stepped down two days later, citing health concerns.

"It was an embarrassing loss last year," senior swingman Andy Hannan said. "We didn't show up mentally to that game."

"I think we lost by something like 50 points to them last year," senior forward Odartey Blankson said. "It just brings back some bad memories. I'm sure the guys that played in that game will be extra motivated to play hard and try to have (Missouri) at least respect us this time when they leave the gym."

But don't look for the Rebels to play the revenge card going into the contest.

"We've got a lot more problems going on now than last year," Blassingame said. "It's a new season (and) we're going through some things right now."

"I've got a lot of respect for him," Hannan said. "I thought he did a great job with our team. It should be good to see him."

UNLV narrowly lost to Utah, 73-70, in the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament on a last-second 3-pointer by Nick Jacobson as the Rebels rallied around Jay Spoonhour's up-tempo style of play the final month of the season.

"I had a great time with (him)," Blassingame said. "He helped me to raise the level of my game by giving me a lot of freedom and telling me things to do. I'm just happy he's coming back to town."

The 6-foot-4 Petrimoulx, who originally signed with Texas A&M out of Cimarron High School, is averaging 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Rebels. The recruiting service Hoop Scoop rated him the ninth-best prospect in junior college in October.

Beck injured the foot in the BYU loss and sat out Monday night's contest against Utah. X-rays on the foot earlier Monday didn't show any broken bones but Kruger called the tests "inconclusive because of all the swelling in there."

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