Runnin’ Rebels Travel To New Mexico For Regular-Season Finale

 

 The UNLV men’s basketball team, which has won three straight games and six of its last seven, will play at New Mexico in its regular-season finale on Friday, March 7. The 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT contest will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

UNLV’s current three-game win streak consists of a 77-71 road win at San Jose State on Feb. 25, a 68-55 home win over intrastate rival UNR last Friday and a 74-67 home victory against San Diego State on Tuesday, which completed its first regular-season sweep of the Aztecs in 12 years. Over their last seven games, the Runnin’ Rebels had held their opponents to just 59.1 points per game on average and 37.5% shooting.

UNLV (17-13, 11-8) had won three straight – a 68-57 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 8, which snapped a five-game losing streak, a 77-52 home win over Air Force on Feb. 11 and a 52-51 road win at Fresno State on Feb. 15 – before falling on Feb. 22 at home to Colorado State, 61-53. That game was UNLV’s first without point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who missed because of injury. He has missed four games in total.

New Mexico (24-6, 16-3) captured the Mountain West regular-season title outright when it won at UNR, 71-67, on Tuesday. The Lobos have won two straight games and 10 of their last 12.

UNLV has three players averaging double figures in scoring: Dedan Thomas Jr. with 15.6 points per game (9th in MW), Jaden Henley with 12.2 ppg and Jailen Bedford with 10.1 ppg. Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 9.9 ppg and 8.2 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.3 rpg and blocks with 1.5 bpg (2nd in MW), while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 4.7 apg (3rd in MW) and Henley leads in steals with 1.5 spg (8th in MW).

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 75-53 (.586).

ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returners from last year’s team along with 10 newcomers. The newcomers are made up of four Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and five freshmen. UNLV has eight upperclassmen, including two sixth-year players. A total of six players on the roster are playing in their hometown of Las Vegas. The Runnin’ Rebels returned two starters from last year’s team in sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who was the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year last season and was named to this season’s preseason all-conference team (has missed the last four games because of injury), and senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. (currently injured) Forward Jalen Hill is also back for a sixth year of college after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January of 2024 (in the MW opener at San Diego State). Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring and assists last year with 13.6 and 5.1 per game, respectively, Whaley Jr. had averages of 7.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while Hill averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg in seven contests.

LAST TIME OUT: In Tuesday’s 74-67 win over San Diego State, Julian Rishwain scored a career-high 26 points on his Senior Night. The victory gave the Runnin’ Rebels the season sweep over the Aztecs, marking the first time since the 2012-13 season that UNLV won both regular-season matchups over SDSU. Rishwain shot 9 of 13 from the field, including a career-high six made 3-pointers, while three other Runnin’ Rebel players also scored in double figures: Jaden Henley with 17 points, senior Jalen Hill with 11 and senior Jailen Bedford with 10. Bedford had a team-high eight rebounds, while Hill grabbed six. The game featured 11 lead changes and 11 ties and was a two-point contest at halftime with the Aztecs holding a 34-32 advantage. Neither team led by more than four points until a jump shot by Hill gave UNLV a 57-52 lead with 7:19 to go. It was a two-point game with under four minutes left, but UNLV pulled away leading by as many as nine late. UNLV also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding San Diego State 36-33. The Runnin’ Rebels improved their record to 11-2 this season when out-rebounding their opponent. UNLV shot 65.2% (15 of 23) during the second half, including 55.6% on 3-pointers, to finish the game at 51.0% (25 of 49) from the field and 50% (12 of 24) from 3-point range. UNLV is now 7-0 this season when shooting 50% or better from the field.

ABOUT NEW MEXICO: The Lobos won the outright MW regular-season title with their 71-67 win at UNR on Tuesday. UNM has won two straight games and 10 of its last 12. New Mexico is 15-1 at home this season with its only loss coming to New Mexico State on Dec. 7. The Lobos have won 10 straight at The Pit. UNM is led in scoring by Donovan Dent with 20.4 ppg (1st in MW). The team’s leading rebounder is Nelly Joseph with 11.0 rpg (1st in MW), while Dent leads in assists with 6.5 apg (2nd in MW) and field-goal percentage (.551, 1st in MW). Tru Washington is the team’s steals leader with 2.1 spg (2nd in MW) and Joseph leads in blocks with 1.5 bpg (3rd in MW). New Mexico is third in the country in fast-break points with 17.0 per game, 13th in blocks per game (5.2 bpg), 19th in rebounds per game (39.6) and 19th in scoring (82.3 ppg). Joseph ranks fourth in the country in rebounding and ninth in double-doubles (14), while Dent is 11th in assists. UNM was predicted to finish second in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches’ poll, receiving one of 26 first-place votes. Dent and Joseph were both named to the Preseason All-MW team in October. The Lobos had an overall record of 26-10 last season, finishing tied for sixth in the MW with a league mark of 10-8. UNM has seven upperclassmen on its 16-man roster. Head coach Richard Pitino is in his fourth season at New Mexico with a record of 85-47 (.644) at the school and is in his 13th year overall as a Division I head coach with a career mark of 244-184 (.570).

LAST TIME VS. NEW MEXICO: In the season’s first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 25 at the Thomas & Mack Center, New Mexico won 75-73. Dedan Thomas Jr. led the Runnin’ Rebels in scoring with 18 points, while Julian Rishwain contributed 16 points on 5 of 10 3-point shooting. Last four minutes: Rishwain made a 3-pointer to give UNLV a 71-70 lead with 3:48 to play but that ended up being the Runnin’ Rebels’ last made field goal of the contest. Trailing 74-72, Thomas Jr. was fouled on a shot with 1.3 seconds left. He made the first free throw but missed the second after a UNM timeout. Joseph was fouled on the rebound with less than a second left and made a free throw to give the Lobos the two-point win.

BROADCAST INFO: Friday’s game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Carter Blackburn, Pete Gillen and Tiffany Blackmon calling the action. The radio call will be handled by Matt Neverett and former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry, which may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas and worldwide on SiriusXM 384. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.