Boise State’s 53-Point Second Half Buries UNLV Runnin’ Rebels Wednesday; Attendance: 5,102
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
Boise State’s basketball team came to Las Vegas with a resume that included a fierce defense — one that would match up well against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels’ ferocious, turnover-inducing defense in the first half at Thomas and Mack Center Wednesday night.
It was a rugged first half with UNLV holding a two-point lead, 33-31. The game had unfolded like people thought — two defensive teams engaged in a slugfest.
But the Boise State Broncos blew up that script in the second half.
Boise State, last season’s Mountain West Conference champs, exploded for 53 points in the second half against a tough UNLV team and left Vegas with a satisfying 84-66 win. Boise State improved to 13-4, while UNLV dropped its third conference game in four tries and fell to 12-4 overall.
In the second half, Boise State blistered UNLV with the three-ball while also slicing up the Rebs’ interior defense.
It resulted with the Broncos outscoring UNLV, 53-33, in the second half and relishing an 18-point win.
“They’re a great passing team. They found the open teammate every time,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said after the game.
Boise State started the second half with a nice run, before UNLV cut a 16-point lead to only six points at 66-60.
But it looked like UNLV spent so much energy trying to catch up that it lacked the juice to climb all the way back as Boise State polished off the win down the stretch.
With UNLV students still out of class, the crowd was expected to be in the 6,000-6,500 range, LVSportsBiz.com was told. Attendance officially came in at 5,102.
Keshon Gilbert led UNLV with 14 and Justin Webster scored 13, with Elijah Harkless chipping with 12. Luis Rodriguez and Jordan McCabe each contributed nine points.
But UNLV’s overall shooting of 27 for 62 was 43.5 percent compared to Boise State, which made 31 of 55 shots, good for 56.4 percent from the field. Boise State was 14 of 26 from three-point land, which is shooting at nearly a 54 percent clip.
UNLV hosts Colorado State at 4 PM Saturday.
