By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
True, UNLV suffered a tough overtime loss to in-state rival Nevada, 82-79.
But the heartening part was seeing a rowdy, spirited crowd inside Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday evening, with a lower bowl filled with screaming fans trying to will the Runnin’ Rebels to a win over the university from up north. UNLV reported attendance at 11,607 and it was one of the loudest crowds in the arena this season for the rivalry game.
UNLV had leads in the second half. But the Rebels couldn’t close out the win and the hard-fought game went to overtime tied at 74.
The Wolf Pack outplayed UNLV in OT and left Las Vegas with the win to sweep the two-game series this season. UNLV fell to 12-14 and 7-6 in the Mountain West Conference. UNR, coached by Steve Alford, who knows the arena from coaching New Mexico, improved to 11-16 and is 9-5 in the conference.
The loss stung the UNLV players.
“It hurts to lose in general. It just hurts,” UNLV point guard Marvin Coleman said after the game. As Coleman and Bryce Hamilton left the post-game media conference, UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois gave each a hug.
There was a definite sense of anticipation to the start of the game. The Thomas & Mack Center parking lot was busy an hour before tip-off. The food lines were long on the concourse when the game began. And the UNLV band was playing with more pep.
Coach T.J. Otzelberger acknowledged there was a buzz inside the arena.
“Our guys rallied behind it. There were a lot of energy plays,” Otzelberger said after the game.
It was UNLV vs UN-Reno, red vs blue before a rowdy crowd on the Runnin’ Rebels campus.
“It was a good college basketball game. Obviously, I feel for our guys that we didn’t come out on the other end of the game. I felt like defensively early we weren’t what we needed to be and offensively late we weren’t what we needed to be, but overall our guys competed and fought, especially with smaller lineups and undersized guys out there from start to finish,” Otzelberger said. “We just have to do a better job of being attentive to every detail in games like that to come out with a victory.”
Most fans lamented all the missed UNLV free throws. The Rebels made only 12 of 25 free throws, leaving 13 points at the charity stripe.
UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton led his team in scoring with 23 points. UNR was led by Jalen Harris with 29 points.
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