UNLV Rebels guard Keshon Gilbert (10) walks off the court after being defeated by the San Francisco Dons, 73-75, during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 | 4:51 p.m.
After UNLV beat Washington State last week to improve to 10-0, head coach Kevin Kruger reminded everyone that this team isn’t the legendary 1990-91 Scarlet and Gray squad that went undefeated in the regular season. Scrappy as they may be, they were going to taste defeat at some point.
Well, that first loss came on Saturday, and it’s going to sting for a while, as San Francisco scored the final 11 points to stun UNLV, 75-73, at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV spent the first 37 minutes winning the contest, and the final three giving it away.
Justin Webster made a transition floater, and Victor Iwuakor followed with a steal and a breakaway dunk to extend UNLV’s lead to 73-64 with 3:07 remaining. From that point on, San Francisco shot 4-of-4 from the field, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers, to steal the victory.
Tyrell Roberts hit the dagger for the Dons, stepping into a 3-pointer from the left wing and knocking it down to give USF the lead with six seconds to play.
On UNLV’s final possession, sophomore guard Keshon Gilbert took an inbound pass and dribbled into the frontcourt before pulling up for a 3-pointer at the top of the key. The shot clanged off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded, and UNLV is now 10-1.
UNLV has leaned on its defense to close out games all year, but San Francisco persevered to shoot 48.4% in the second half.
“That’s the first time a team’s gotten better in the second half on us, as far as shooting, as far as shot quality,” senior guard E.J. Harkless said.
Senior forward Luis Rodriguez didn’t think he and his teammates were on the same page down the stretch, which allowed the Dons to make three 3-pointers in the final 2:50.
“We just didn’t communicate enough to find the open man,” Rodriguez said. “They beat us to a couple spots on defense.”
Kruger said fatigue may have played a part in the collapse.
“We were just about a half-step late,” Kruger said. “We gave up some looks. Didn’t get matched up in transition. Kind of jogged back a couple times, even after a dead ball we jogged back and weren’t quite matched.”
Roberts, Khalil Shabazz and Zane Meeks each scored 17 points to pace San Francisco.
Harkless led both teams with 21 points but did not score in the final seven minutes. He dribbled into the lane for a short turnaround jumper that could have extended UNLV’s lead to three points with 39 seconds left, but couldn’t get it to drop.
It’s a shot Harkless has made in several clutch situations and expects to convert again.
“I just missed it,” he said. “I’ll make it next time.”
After Roberts put San Francisco in front with six seconds left, Kruger called timeout to set up the final play. Harkless inbounded to Gilbert, and he got a relatively clean look before the buzzer sounded.
Gilbert came into the day shooting 56.7% from 3-point range but missed all three of his long-distance attempts against San Francisco, including the potential winner.
“Keshon’s been shooting it great,” Kruger said. “We wanted to get downhill and get a good look at the rim.”
There appeared to be enough time on the clock for Gilbert to take another dribble or two. Would Kruger have preferred he drive inside and press for a better look at a tying 2-pointer?
“It’s something we’ll look at and talk about,” Kruger said, “but there’s a lot of situations you can always go through.”
The Scarlet and Gray will attempt to bounce back on Thursday when they host Southern Mississippi in the non-conference finale.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.