Game day: UNLV looking to climb MWC standings in Fresno

UNLV Rebels guard D.J. Thomas (11) takes the ball upcourt against Air Force Falcons guard Byron Brown (11) during the second half of an NCAA basketball game at Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo by Steve Marcus

FRESNO, Calif. — Coming off back to back wins, the UNLV basketball team hits the road again on Saturday to face Fresno State (Saturday, 4 p.m.). Another victory would move Kevin Kruger’s crew closer to a first-round bye in the Mountain West tournament, while a loss would be devastating to their chances.

Three keys to watch:

The others

D.J. Thomas is the straw the stirs the drink for UNLV, but in Tuesday’s blowout win over Air Force it was “the others” who carried the load.

Thomas posted an effective if modest stat line of seven points and five assists in 30 minutes, and the team’s role players did the rest. Five teammates scored in double figures, led by Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry’s 15 points.

While Thomas will always be the go-to guy, Cherry liked the way everyone else stepped up.

“I think it’s really good that we all distributed the points,” Cherry said. “Whoever was scoring, we were all sharing the rock and letting coach Kruger draw up plays to let us play freely.”

Maybe most importantly, UNLV got strong contributions from the wings as starters Jaden Henley and Julian Rishwain combined for 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. They also made 3-of-6 from 3-point range.

Sixth man Brooklyn Hicks, who also chipped in 11 points, said the offense just runs better when the wings are doing their thing.

“They’re both natural scorers, so it’s good to see them get in their groove,” Hicks said. “Julian is hitting his shots, Henley can really handle it and get to his spots. It awesome to see them really hooping right now.”

Thomas will get his against Fresno, but UNLV’s best chance of coming home with a win is a team effort with scoring from all angles.

Point matchup

Fresno State point guard Zaon Collins was quiet in the first meeting between these teams, going for seven points and seven assists in a game that UNLV won easily, 87-77. Collins, a sophomore, is currently Fresno’s leading scorer on the season but he has been up and down since the start of conference play; over the last seven games he has scored, in order, two, 17, six, nine, 22, 12 and four points.

UNLV doesn’t have to hold Collins to two points, but if the Scarlet and Gray can keep him in check it’s hard to imagine how Fresno State’s 319^th-ranked offense scores enough win.

Standings watch

At 7-7 in Mountain West play, UNLV is in sixth place in the conference standings, 2.5 games behind a trio of squads at 9-4: San Diego State, Boise State and Colorado State.

The Scarlet and Gray have head-to-head matchups remaining with Colorado State (Feb. 22) and San Diego State (March 4), and they’ve already beaten SDSU, so a strong finish to the season could still vault UNLV into the top five of the standings, which would earn them a first-round bye in the MWC tournament.

Before looking ahead to the teams above them, Kruger’s squad must first beat the teams they’re supposed to beat — starting Saturday in Fresno.

Team leaders

UNLV (13-12, 7-7 MWC)

Scoring

D.J. Thomas: 15.9 points

Rebounds

Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry: 5.1 rebounds

Assists

D.J. Thomas: 4.6 assists

Fresno State (5-20, 1-13 MWC)

Scoring

Zaon Collins: 12.6 points

Rebounds

Elijah Price: 7.8 rebounds

Assists

Zaon Collins: 4.6 assists

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.