UNLV keeps the magic going as Rishwain shoots down San Diego State

UNLV Rebels guard Julian Rishwain (20) is congratulated by forward Jeremiah Cherry (45) after making a three-point basket against the San Diego State Aztecs during the second half of an NCAA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Photo by Steve Marcus

This UNLV basketball team just might have something special going on right now.

It was impossible to ignore that intangible feeling after the Scarlet and Gray knocked off San Diego State for the second time this season, 74-67, to extend their winning streak to three games.

It wasn’t just that UNLV won, securing a season sweep of SDSU for the first time since 2012-13 — it was the way it went down.

UNLV got contributions from the entire truncated seven-man rotation, highlighted by a flamethrower showing from Julian Rishwain, who saved his career-high 26 points outing for Senior Night. Rishwain was honored during a pregame ceremony along with fellow seniors Jalen Hill and Jailen Bedford, then went out and drilled six 3-pointers in a 39-minute ironman performance.

Does that sound like business as usual? Or has UNLV bottled up some late-season magic?

“I think it all just came together this game,” Rishwain said of his memorable night. “It felt great, man. My family was there and everything and showed out. My coaches stayed confident in me and I think I rewarded them.”

Rishwain made 9-of-13 from the floor, 6-of-9 from 3-point range and delivered the two most clutch baskets of the night. He drilled a step-back midrange jumper to extend UNLV’s lead to 63-56 with four minutes to play, and after San Diego State pulled within 67-63, Rishwain pump-faked his defender out of the way and swished his final triple to stick the dagger with 1:55 remaining.

Head coach Kevin Kruger applauded Rishwain for finishing strong on a night that had to be draining both physically and emotionally.

“Julian’s step-back 2-pointer kind of [made] the difference in the game,” Kruger said. “He was probably running on adrenaline. A huge shot for us.”

Rishwain joked after the game that this was actually not his first Senior Night, as the sixth-year wing previously had “senior” campaigns at San Francisco and Florida.

Whatever got into him, Rishwain said he used it to fuel his hot shooting performance.

“Senior Night went well,” Rishwain said. “I was emotional. Then I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to play a game after this.’ But I tapped into those emotions.”

While Rishwain was torching the net at one end, UNLV served up another seriously hard-nosed defensive effort at the other. The Scarlet and Gray held San Diego State to 37.9% shooting in the second half and matched the visitors’ trademark physicality, winning the rebounding battle, 36-33.

Hill set the tone on defense, posting six rebounds, two steals and a block to go along with his 11 points. The Las Vegas native was a team-high +10 in his 37 minutes.

“I just wanted to show my team that I’m going to put my body out there no matter what,” Hill said. “Just fighting and banging with them, I think that shows the type of toughness that we definitely need.”

Jaden Henley was excellent again, fighting through foul trouble to contribute 17 points and four assists. Bedford scored 10 points in 29 minutes off the bench.

UNLV is now 17-13 overall and 11-8 in conference play. The team is locked into the No. 6 seed in next week’s Mountain West tournament, so Friday’s regular-season finale at league leader New Mexico is technically meaningless — except to keep the good vibes going.

Kruger acknowledged that UNLV is riding high and building more confidence with each victory, but the coach in him believes the magic formula is actually a fundamental formula.

“Guys are just really guarding,” he said. “Doing a great job of forcing tough shots and doing a great job of rebounding.”

Whatever this rejuvenated UNLV team has going for it, it’s working — and at just the right time.

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