Game day: UNLV basketball holds off Fresno State, 78-69

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024 | 2 a.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024 | 10:20 p.m.

UNLV is officially on a winning streak.

The Scarlet and Gray knocked off Fresno State, 78-69, giving Kevin Kruger's squad two straight victories over Division-I opponents for the first time since beating Stetson and Pepperdine in the second and third games of the season.

And for the second straight contest, freshman guard Brooklyn Hicks played a big role. Jackie Johnson was ejected midway through the second half for a flagrant foul, so Hicks found himself on the court as part of the closing lineup. He made a big corner 3-pointer to extend UNLV's lead to 69-61 with 2:30 remaining, then on the next possession Hicks drove and knocked down a short floater to seal the game.

Hicks finished with five points in 21 minutes off the bench. Kalib Boone led UNLV with 21 points, while D.J. Thomas posted 12 points and six assists.

The modest winning streak improves UNLV's overall record to 11-9 and 4-4 in the Mountain West.

UNLV can't shake Fresno State, lead down to five

This game is getting a little too close for comfort, from UNLV's perspective. With 11:09 remaining, Fresno State has pulled within 51-46.

UNLV let Fresno State hang around for most of the night, and now the Bulldogs are making their run. Fresno State guard Xavier DuSell converted a 3-point play on a fast break, then followed that up with a conventional 3-pointer to trim UNLV's lead to 44-41 with 14 minutes left. UNLV regained some control on the next two possessions by getting post buckets from Rob Whaley and Kalib Boone, which pushed the advantage back to 49-42, but DuSell just scored a layup to keep it close.

UNLV is shooting 41.3% as a team, and once again cold 3-point shooting is holding them back, as the Scarlet and Gray have made only 4-of-14 from deep.

Kalib Boone leads UNLV with 14 points, while Luis Rodriguez has 12.

DuSell now has eight, all in the last few minutes. Isaiah Pope leads Fresno State with 12 points.

UNLV basketball leads Fresno State at half

UNLV has a 37-28 lead at halftime, and they can thank Fresno State for that.

The Bulldogs have been downright bad tonight, committing a bunch of unforced turnovers to basically hand UNLV the lead. Through 20 minutes of play, Fresno State still has more turnovers than shot attempts, 15 to 14.

UNLV hasn't been great on offense, but Luis Rodriguez's early hot stretch and some shot-making down the stretch by Keylan Boone have provided some cushion. Rodriguez has a game-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Boone has eight points and five rebounds. D.J. Thomas closed the first half with a driving layup to give him six points and four assists.

Fresno guard Isaiah Hill, who has torched UNLV in the past, is having another good game with 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting.

UNLV basketball leads Fresno State, 20-9

UNLV is clamping down on defense, with a 20-9 lead over Fresno State with 7:49 left in the first half.

You get the feeling UNLV should be up my more, given the fact that Fresno has more turnovers (10) than attempted field goals (nine). The Scarlet and Gray have had their own struggles on the offensive end, though, making just 8-of-23 so far (34.8%).

Can they make a few shots down the stretch and take a comfortable lead into halftime? Or will Fresno State make them pay for not taking advantage?

Luis Rodriguez has a game-high 10 points, while D.J. Thomas has four points and three assists.

Luis Rodriguez stakes UNLV to early lead over Fresno State

It's been the Luis Rodriguez show so far, and that's just fine with UNLV. With 15:26 left in the first half, the Scarlet and Gray have a 12-3 lead over visiting Fresno State.

Rodriguez has been the entire offense so far. The senior wing scored UNLV's first 10 points, including a 3-pointer and a breakaway layup. He has also taken on the toughest defensive matchup, as Kevin Kruger is sticking him on FSU point guard Isaiah Hill.

Rob Whaley just converted a layup to give UNLV a second player in the scoring column. At the other end, Fresno is 1-of-2 from the field with an astonishing six turnovers already.

UNLV basketball hosts Fresno State

Getting on a roll has been difficult for UNLV this season. The Scarlet and Gray’s longest winning streak (over Division-I opponents) is just two games, and that happened way back on Nov. 11 and Nov. 17 when they beat Stetson and Pepperdine.

Since then, UNLV’s only consecutive victories came by beating Hofstra (Dec. 21), Carroll College (Dec. 31) and Bethesda (Jan. 2), and the latter two aren’t even DI squads.

Can Kevin Kruger finally get his team to string something together? After downing San Jose State on Saturday, UNLV hosts Fresno State on Tuesday (8 p.m., FS1) in its quest for a bona fide win streak.

Three keys to watch:

The new streak

UNLV is well known for its 3-pointer streak, as the team has at least one made triple in all 1,212 games it has played since the introduction of the 3-point line. That’s the longest such streak in the country. But the Scarlet and Gray are currently riding an even more improbable stretch of hot shooting.

UNLV closed out its win at San Jose State by making its final 14 field-goal attempts, a run the likes of which Kruger said he couldn’t remember seeing.

How long can they keep it going? Fans may expect their favorite team to make every shot, but after practice on Monday, Kruger seemed resigned to the fact that UNLV will miss one, eventually.

When asked how long he thinks the streak can go, Kruger was realistic.

“Law of averages usually wins out,” Kruger said with a laugh, “so we’ll see.”

Experiment in progress

With injuries pruning UNLV’s roster to the bones, Kruger has been thrust into the position of having to come up with new lineups and a new rotation at a relatively late point in the season.

At San Jose State, Kruger was forced to start a lineup of five players who had only logged 26 seconds of court time together all season. That quintet didn’t do so well, as SJSU outscored them, 25-16, in 13 minutes, but there were bright spots.

An unlikely lineup of Jackie Johnson, Brooklyn Hicks, Luis Rodriguez, Rob Whaley and Keylan Boone outscored SJSU, 17-9, in seven minutes. And that same grouping with Isaiah Cottrell subbed in for Whaley was even more effective, outscoring the Spartans 13-4 in just three minutes. Hicks finished with a plus/minus of +19 in his 18 minutes off the bench.

Now, those are small sample sizes, so don’t expect Kruger to start leaning on lineups that don’t include D.J. Thomas. But it shows that, with some experimentation, Kruger can find ways to make the roster work.

King of the Hill

Fresno State swept UNLV last year, and point guard Isaiah Hill was a driving force. He scored 28 and 22 points in the two matchups while shooting 15-of-25 from the field. In short, UNLV had no one who could stay with him on defense.

That assignment will likely fall to Thomas on Tuesday. The freshman will not only have to hold up against Hill in man-to-man situations, but he’ll have to navigate screens and play good team defense, lest UNLV get destroyed by Hill for the third time.

Thomas said he’s looking forward to the matchup.

“I watched the game last year. He can play,” Thomas said. “He’s quick, shifty, he controls the pace of the game, he leads his team. So I’m excited to go against him.”

Who: UNLV (10-9, 3-4 MWC) vs. Fresno State (9-11, 2-5 MWC)

When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Where: Thomas & Mack Center

TV: FS1

Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM

UNLV leaders

Scoring

Kalib Boone: 12.6 points

Rebounds

Luis Rodriguez: 7.1 rebounds

Assists

D.J. Thomas: 6.3 assists

Fresno State leaders

Scoring

Isaiah Hill: 12.5 points

Rebounds

Enoch Boakye: 8.2 rebounds

Assists

Isaiah Hill: 6.1 assists

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