UNLV keeps it simple in 77-71 win at San Jose State

UNLV Rebels forward Jeremiah Cherry (45) congratulates UNLV Rebels guard Jaden Henley (10) as time runs out for the San Jose State Spartans during an NCAA basketball game at Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. UNLV Rebels forward Jalen Hill (1) is at right. STEVE MARCUS Photo by Steve Marcus

Winning without D.J. Thomas was never going to be easy. Even against the dregs of the Mountain West, UNLV needs to play sound, mistake-free basketball to give itself a chance — just a chance — to come out on top.

That’s what the Scarlet and Gray did on Tuesday, making enough of the safe, simple plays to edge San Jose State, 77-71.

UNLV is now 1-1 since losing Thomas, the team’s leading scorer and playmaker, to a shoulder injury. The victory improved their record to 15-13 overall and 9-8 in conference play with three games remaining in the regular season.

Head coach Kevin Kruger applauded his guys for working together and triumphing as a team.

“They should feel good about this win,” Kruger said.

UNLV’s mantra heading into the game was straightforward: Don’t beat yourself. San Jose State is bad (13-17 overall, 6-12 MWC), so just avoiding catastrophic mistakes was the top bullet point on the scouting report.

And UNLV executed that gameplan, especially in the second half.

After committing eight turnovers in the game’s first six minutes, the Scarlet and Gray only registered six giveaways in the final 34 minutes. And they only had one turnover in the last 9:34, when Jailen Bedford was stripped while trying to create offense late in the shot clock with about 90 seconds to play.

Aside from that lone miscue, ball security was a major plus down the stretch. UNLV also cashed in on free throws, which was a trouble spot in a tight loss to Colorado State on Tuesday. The Scarlet and Gray bounced back by hitting 16-of-21 from the stripe, and in the final 19 seconds when San Jose State began fouling intentionally, Jalen Hill and Jaden Henley combined to go 6-of-6 to shut the door.

Hill and Henley each made a clutch pair to turn three-point leads into five-point leads, which Kruger certainly appreciated.

“It was the difference in the game,” Kruger said. “They were calm, collected.”

Henley led five UNLV scorers in double figures with 22 points, a season-high for the junior wing. He hit 7-of-16 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line while adding five assists and five rebounds.

Hill enjoyed one of his best games of the season, attacking the rim and finishing strong en route to 17 points and nine rebounds.

Henley and Hill combined to connect on 12-of-14 free throws.

After UNLV shot a collective 7-of-17 from the line against Colorado State, Henley said the players put in the work to refine their free-throw form, and it paid off.

“Obviously last game, we didn’t shoot from the free-throw line well, so we were in the gym working on that,” Henley said.

Bedford tallied 13 points off the bench, and Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry went for 14 points and eight rebounds.

UNLV will now turn its attention to Friday’s home game against in-state rival UNR, a contest that everyone in the program would very much like to win.

The formula isn’t a secret. The Scarlet and Gray will have to play an even cleaner game, and even then they’ll need a few breaks to go their way. But if their effort in San Jose is any indication, the players understand their path is narrow.

Kruger believes they have it in them.

“[We were] just a couple mental lapses there late from being as close to executing the game plan as we possibly could have,” he said. “If we can be as close to the scouting report as we can be, we give ourselves a much better chance.”

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