Unfortunately, the "fairy tale ending" never came to pass, as the Rebels fell to the San Diego State Aztecs 71-62.
The two teams played a relatively close game through the first 19 minutes of play. David Jenkins Jr. caught fire in the first half, accounting for the Rebel’s first nine points of the game. The score remained relatively even, with both teams struggling to score. Both teams shot less than 40% from the field during this stretch. With just over a minute left, the Rebels tied the game at 28 after buckets from Moses Wood and Bryce Hamilton. Everything went downhill from that point. The Aztecs finished the half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
“When it was tied at 28 prior to halftime, that 7-0 run hurt us,” Coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We have to be more stubborn, more gritty and stay the course, and not allow those runs because against a good defensive club like that it's hard to make that up.”
Entering the second half, the Aztecs went on another 7-0 run to take a 14 point lead. Jenkins Jr. continued to produce for the Runnin’ Rebels, but his team did not give him much help. After trailing by 16, the Rebels cut their deficit to just eight points with around nine minutes to play in the game. That was as close as they would come though, as the Aztecs scored the next seven points to take a 15 point lead. The Rebels got it close late in the game, but were unable to make up the deficit.
Jenkins Jr. finished the game with 32 points on 11-23 shooting. He also shot 7-14 from beyond the arc, tying his season high in three-point field goals made. No one else on the Rebels made it to double-digit scoring. Bryce Hamilton, the leading scorer on the year for the Rebels, finished with just nine points on 3-14 shooting and fouled out late in the game. Matt Mitchell led the way for the Aztecs with 19 points of 50% shooting.
For the Runnin’ Rebels, it is back to the drawing board. They fall to 11-13 on the season and play their next game March 6 against the Wyoming Cowboys. The game is crucial for standings in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament. UNLV currently holds the sixth seed in the conference.
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