How to watch UNLV basketball
- What: UNLV vs. No. 22 Colorado State
- When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
- Where: Thomas and Mack Center
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Radio: 1100AM, 100.9FM
UNLV just knocked off another ranked opponent, downing No. 22 Colorado State, 66-60.
D.J. Thomas came up clutch, as the freshman scored 18 points in the second half to lead the way. Thomas scored six in a row for UNLV to help build a 56-51 lead with less than three minutes to play. Once Colorado State began fouling intentionally, senior wing Luis Rodriguez stepped up and made 6-of-6 in the final minute to preserve UNLV's advantage.
Thomas finished with a game high 23 points. Rodriguez put up 14 points and six rebounds while playing excellent defense on Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens (18 points, 6-of-12 FGs).
It's a huge win for the Scarlet and Gray, who improve to 9-5 in Mountain West play. They are in a three-way tie for third place with UNR and San Diego State, though both teams currently hold head-to-head tiebreakers.
The down note is the status of junior forward Rob Whaley, who exited early in the second half with an apparent knee injury. We'll have to see if Kevin Kruger has an update on Whaley in the postgame press conference.
UNLV has late lead against No. 22 Colorado State
Keylan Boone just knocked down a huge 3-pointer to give UNLV a 52-49 lead with 3:46 remaining.
Luis Rodriguez drove and found Boone in the corner, and the senior wing took care of the rest. It was Boone's second 3 of the game, and he's now got 11 points in 33 minutes.
After a defensive stop, D.J. Thomas drove and appeared to connect on an acrobatic and-1 layup, but the referees overruled the original call and said the foul occurred before the shot. Thomas will now have a 1-and-1 free throw attempt coming up after the timeout.
UNLV has limited CSU point guard Isaiah Stevens to 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Stevens will no doubt assert himself in the final minutes; UNLV's defense will have to be up to the task if they want this win.
UNLV trying to hold on against Colorado State
D.J. Thomas has taken control, scoring 10 points so far in the second half to propel UNLV to a 48-46 lead with 6:49 remaining.
Thomas now has a game-high 15 points, and the Scarlet and Gray are about as well positioned to win this one as they could have hoped. CSU point guard Isaiah Stevens just took what is presumably his final breather of the night, and UNLV outscored CSU, 3-0, in the three minutes he was on the bench. UNLV will have a chance to add on, as Brooklyn Hicks will shoot a 1-and-1 after the timeout.
This game looks like it's going down to the final possessions, just like the first matchup at Colorado State. Just like in that game, UNLV has a lead with six minutes to play. Can they hold it this time?
Whaley goes down, UNLV hanging around
UNLV continues to hang around, trailing Colorado State 32-30 early in the second half, but the news here is the injury status of Rob Whaley.
The junior forward collapsed after fighting for a defensive rebound. Whaley stayed on the floor for a moment, holding his left knee. Trainers eventually helped him straight to the locker room, as Whaley avoided putting any pressure on his left leg.
The burly forward has been a breakout contributor for UNLV this season and is coming off a 17-point, seven-rebound performance at Air Force. If he's out for the rest of the game, or an extended period of time, it's going to be a big blow to UNLV's postseason hopes.
Whaley had six points and three rebounds before exiting today's game.
Colorado State pulls ahead of UNLV at half, 26-24
It was an ugly 20 minutes, but UNLV is surely happy to be within a bucket at the break, as Colorado State takes a 26-24 lead into halftime.
The teams combined to miss 37 shots in the first half, with UNLV going 9-of-29 from the field. Kalib Boone scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting but also committed a pair of turnovers (UNLV has nine giveaways).
Despite that, UNLV actually pulled ahead late in the half on the strength of a 10-0 run. Rob Whaley threw down an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Keylan Boone, and Luis Rodriguez drained a 3 to put the Scarlet and Gray ahead, 24-21. Colorado State answered by ending the half on a 5-0 mini-run to regain the lead.
Point guard Isaiah Stevens leads Colorado State with seven points and a pair of assists.
It's hard to imagine the second half playing out in such a ragged fashion, but the Mountain West is weird. The first team to make a handful of 3-pointers could end up going home with the win.
UNLV hanging tough against No. 22 Colorado State
UNLV continues to play poorly, but the No. 22 team in the country has yet to take advantage. With 7:33 remaining in the first half, Colorado State's lead is just 18-12.
The Rams started hot but have missed their last five shots, including a pair of layups. That has allowed UNLV to hang around despite shooting a miserable 5-of-20 from the field — plus six turnovers.
Rob Whaley will shoot a pair of free throws after the timeout, so UNLV could trim the deficit even further. Will Colorado State look back at this stretch and kick themselves for letting UNLV stay close?
Colorado State comes out hot against UNLV
UNLV is probably going to play some defense today — it just hasn't happened yet, as Colorado State has sprung out to a 10-5 lead with 15:32 left in the first half.
As expected, senior wing Luis Rodriguez has been tasked with defending CSU point guard Isaiah Stevens, but so far it hasn't made a difference. The Rams scored on their first five possessions and are currently shooting 100% from the field, including a pair of layups for forward Joel Scott. Stevens has two points.
UNLV is just 2-of-10 from the field, but D.J. Thomas connected on a long 3-pointer to keep the hole from getting too deep.
UNLV basketball hosts No. 22 Colorado State
Coming off Wednesday’s blowout win at Air Force, the UNLV basketball team is hoping to continue the late-season momentum when it hosts Colorado State on Saturday (5 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
Three keys to watch:
The closer
UNLV had a chance to score one of its most impressive victories of the season when the team traveled to take on Colorado State on Jan. 18. And for 34 minutes, it looked like the Scarlet and Gray were going to pull it off.
Then Isaiah Stevens happened.
The fifth-year point guard took over down the stretch, scoring eight points and dishing out three assists that led to another eight points. Colorado State went from trailing by six to winning, 78-75.
Stevens finished with 18 points and seven assists, which is right in line with his season averages, but it was the way he dominated the final six minutes that have stuck with UNLV players and coaches.
When the Rams come to the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Kevin Kruger said UNLV will have to defend Stevens for all 40 minutes.
“He’s a 40-minute guy,” Kruger said after Friday’s practice. “Great players make great plays, and he does that. You’ve just got to do your best to make it as tough as possible. At the end of games, it feels like his percentages go up and he’s that much more threatening.”
UNLV used 6-foot-6 wing Luis Rodriguez as the primary defender on Stevens the first time around, and that’s likely to be the matchup again on Saturday.
Waiting on Webster
Justin Webster was expected to be a high-volume 3-point marksman this season, coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he nailed 46.0% from long distance. But the senior guard got off to a slow start, and an ankle injury knocked him out of action for more than two weeks, compounding the issue.
Since returning to the lineup on Feb. 10, Webster has come off the bench and mostly served as a decoy, going scoreless in his first three outings (which lasted a combined 17 minutes).
He bumped up to 23 minutes against Air Force, however, and connected on his first 3 since his return, finishing with seven points. Webster is now shooting 29.2% from 3 on the season, but the team believes he is capable of getting hot at any point.
Kruger credited Webster’s energy level since his return and said he is still valuable because he attracts defensive attention.
Now that Webster has gotten some extended time, Kruger is hopeful his shooting touch will return.
“To see his first one go down at Air Force was awesome,” Kruger said. “He’s struggling and he’s frustrated that he hasn’t had the same shooting effect that he had last year, but that also is a sign of respect. He doesn’t have quite the same looks that he had last year.”
Standings watch
The win at Air Force allowed UNLV to move up one spot in the Mountain West standings, putting them in sixth place with an 8-5 conference record. They’re actually tied for fifth with UNR, but at this point UNR’s head-to-head win gives them the edge — for now.
UNLV will get another shot at UNR in the season finale on March 9, and they’ll face fourth-place San Diego State in the game before that on March 5. So despite some difficult losses throughout the season, UNLV still has an opportunity to make a move up the standings in the final weeks.
Who: UNLV (15-10, 8-5 MWC) vs. Colorado State (20-7, 8-6 MWC)
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: Thomas & Mack Center
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 1100 AM, 100.9 FM
UNLV leaders
Scoring
D.J. Thomas: 12.4 points
Rebounds
Luis Rodriguez: 6.6 rebounds
Assists
D.J. Thomas: 5.8 assists
Colorado State leaders
Scoring
Isaiah Stevens: 16.3 points
Rebounds
Nique Clifford: 7.2 rebounds
Assists
Isaiah Stevens: 7.4 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy