BY ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
You get the sense the small crowds at UNLV basketball games may have bottomed out this season as a group of fans that numbered in the 4,000-5,000 range (according to what an usher said she was told) was a lively bunch and cheered on another Runnin’ Rebels conference win Tuesday night.
Everyone leaving Thomas & Mack saw a weak performance by a New Mexico squad and had only one question: “How the hell did this same New Mexico team beat mighty conference for Nevada-Reno?”
For the record, UNLV defeated New Mexico, 74-58, and improved to 5-1 in Mountain West Conference play.
The stat sheets said attendance was 8,432, but that obviously was not the number of actual bodies that went through the turnstiles at Thomas & Mack.
New Mexico is now 3-4 in the conference and 9-10 overall, while UNLV is now 11-7 overall.
It was purely subjective, but I sensed the crowd had more energy to it compared to past crowds in the arena this season. The university fight song sounded louder and the “Reb-els” chant had more of a bite tonight, Game host Chet Buchanan, a local radio personality, walked the arena and encouraged fans to get juice up the noise volume.
New Mexico shot the ball miserably — 22 for 62 for the game and 35 percent. UNLV was 25 for 57, or 44 percent. But the 3-Ball shooting for UNLV was outstanding, 8-14 from three-point land in the first half and 6-11 in the second half, for a clip of 14-25 overall for 56 percent.
But after the game, UNLV coach Marvin Menzies praised his young team’s defensive effort.
“It’s all about defense,” Menzies said in the media room. “We’re heading in the right direction. I’m really proud of the guys.”
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LVSportsBiz asked Menzies how a team that lost to UNLV by 16 points Tuesday also knock off powerful, highly-ranked Nevada-Reno.
“It’s called young adults. It’s the psychology of children,” Menzies said.
The Reno team comes to Las Vegas in a week for a game against UNLV at 7 p.m. Jan. 29. LVSportsBiz.com will be at Thomas & Mack for that contest.
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