The UNLV men’s basketball team dominated the boards to defeat UNR 68-55 on Friday, ending a three-game losing streak against its in-state rival.
The defensive effort saw the Rebels establish a 34-26 lead at halftime and a whopping 27-12 rebounding advantage.
By the final buzzer, junior guard Jaden Henley had scored a career-high 23 points for the Rebels (16-13, 10-8 Mountain West), who finished with a 48-27 rebounding edge.
Senior guard Kobe Sanders scored 28 for the Wolf Pack (16-13, 8-10).
The Rebels made only 4 of 20 3-pointers (20 percent), but UNR was even worse at 3-for-21 (14.3 percent).
A one-handed slam dunk from junior center Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry put the Rebels up 40-30 five minutes into the second half, and senior guard Julian Rishwain’s four-point play was the decisive possession, as UNLV went up 59-45 with five minutes left to play.
All the Rebels had to do from then was maintain the momentum until the final buzzer.
In the Rebels’ second win in three games without injured leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr., it was quickly evident the matchup wouldn’t result in a lot of points.
The teams exchanged six defensive rebounds for nearly four minutes before UNR junior forward Nick Davidson made a layup for the first points of the game.
Henley opened the lid for the Rebels with a 3-pointer a few possessions later.
Once the Rebels got on the scoreboard, fourth-year UNLV coach Kevin Kruger illustrated the emotions of the rivalry by drawing the first technical foul of his career.
Cherry excited the crowd by following Henley’s 3-pointer with a dunk to take a 5-2 lead, but Kruger appeared to be upset by the officials failing to call a foul on the Wolf Pack, which had been double-teaming Cherry from the opening tip.
After sophomore guard Tyler Rolison made both technical free throws, Sanders scored on a jumper to put UNR back ahead.
At a timeout, the UNLV women’s basketball team and coach Lindy La Rocque were introduced on the court to celebrate their fourth consecutive Mountain West regular-season title.
La Rocque urged the crowd to keep up the energy.
“We need to beat this team!” she yelled.
And the Rebels played like it.
There were nine lead changes in the first half. But by the time the Rebels went on a 8-0 run to take a 28-19 advantage with 2:22 left until the end of the half, UNR’s last lead was a faint memory.
With 1:45 until halftime, Henley got shifty with a crossover and behind-the-back dribble combo to drive to the basket for a three-point play and UNLV’s largest lead of the half at 30-21.
UNLV will play its last home game of the regular season at 8 p.m. Tuesday against San Diego State (19-7, 12-5).
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.