Ice-cold UNLV beaten at the buzzer by Saint Mary’s

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023 | 7:07 p.m.

Coming off Wednesday’s thrilling upset of No. 8 Creighton, the UNLV basketball team had a chance to build some momentum heading into the final stretch of non-conference play.

Instead, the Scarlet and Gray suffered their most painful loss of the season on Saturday, dropping a last-second decision to Saint Mary’s in double overtime, 69-67.

Kevin Kruger’s squad is now a disappointing 4-5 on the year, with two contests remaining before the start of the Mountain West schedule.

UNLV stumbled through an epic shooting slump for most of the 50 minutes of game time, making just three shots in the first half and shooting 33.3% from the field overall (18-of-54). Still, they erased a 10-point deficit with five minutes to play in regulation, and freshman guard D.J. Thomas converted a driving layup with 10.9 seconds on the clock to tie the score, 50-50, and send the game to overtime.

Thomas then poured in UNLV’s first eight points in overtime, and the score was still knotted after the additional five minutes, 59-59.

The Scarlet and Gray built a 67-64 lead with under a minute to play in the second overtime, but Saint Mary’s scored the final five points to steal the victory.

With the scored tied, 67-67, with 36 seconds left, Thomas dribbled out the clock before missing a short jumper. Saint Mary’s pulled down the rebound and opted to push it in transition rather than call timeout. UNLV’s defense was caught out of position, and point guard Jordan Ross slipped a pass to center Mitchell Saxon for an uncontested layup just before the buzzer.

It was a bitter finish for UNLV, which battled through a dreadful offensive showing for most of the night. The team made just 3-of-14 from 3-point range and didn’t make a bucket over the final 2:46 of the second overtime; the Scarlet and Gray were held scoreless for the final 1:51.

Part of the icy numbers could be attributed to Saint Mary’s, which came into the game sporting one of the nation’s top defenses (No. 24 in KenPom’s adjusted defense metric). But much of it was poor execution on UNLV’s part; starting center Kalib Boone was shut out completely, scoring zero points on 0-of-3 shooting, while Keylan Boone shot 1-of-9 for his three points.

Thomas led UNLV with 24 points on 6-of-16 from the field. Justin Webster and Luis Rodriguez chipped in 16 apiece.

Saxen did most of the damage for Saint Mary’s, scoring 23 points and collecting 16 rebounds. As a team, Saint Mary’s grabbed 33 offensive rebounds compared to just 29 defensive rebounds for UNLV. That disparity allowed the Gaels to tally 31 second-chance points.

UNLV will return home to host Hofstra on Thursday, marking the team’s first game at the Thomas & Mack Center since Nov. 28.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.