Published Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 | 8:45 p.m.
UNLV did what it needed to do tonight, playing aggressive defense against an overmatched opponent and forcing 16 turnovers in an 80-59 victory over Pepperdine.
UNLV led by as many as 38 points in the second half before easing across the finish line. The win improves the Scarlet and Gray to 3-1 on the season.
Julian Rishwain and Brooklyn Hicks more than made up for the absence of starting wing Jaden Henley, who missed the game due to a foot injury. Rishwain made his first start and tallied 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting in 26 minutes, while Hicks came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
D.J. Thomas totaled 13 points and six assists with zero turnovers.
UNLV will next be in action on Saturday when New Mexico State visits the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV basketball trouncing Pepperdine, up 65-28
Freshman 7-footer Pape N’Diaye just banged in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and this one is effectively over (and has been for some time). With 11:43 remaining, UNLV has a 65-28 lead over Pepperdine.
Sophomore guard Brooklyn Hicks has been impressive off the bench, scoring 14 points to lead five UNLV players in double figures. That’s a new career high for Hicks, who is 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from long distance.
D.J. Thomas has 10 points and six assists, and Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry has 12 points and five rebounds.
UNLV running Pepperdine out of the building, up 46-17 at half
Shorthanded or not, UNLV is making short work of Pepperdine. The Scarlet and Gray closed the first half on a 16-2 run to take a commanding 46-17 lead into the break.
The dominance is starting at the defensive end, where UNLV has held Pepperdine to 28.0% from the field while forcing 11 turnovers. That has allowed UNLV to build a 19-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Julian Rishwain is UNLV’s leading scorer with 12 points, and Brooklyn Hicks has chipped in 11 off the bench. D.J. Thomas has had no problem manipulating the Waves defense to the tune of eight points and five assists.
The game has gotten so out of hand that UNLV walk-on DeMarion Yap got into the game for a couple minutes.
Look for UNLV to put this game in the icebox shortly after play resumes.
UNLV basketball takes early lead over Pepperdine
Kevin Kruger wanted his defense to be more aggressive, and he’s gotten it so far as the Scarlet and Gray have built a 13-5 lead over Pepperdine with 11:33 left in the first half.
UNLV has held Pepperdine to 2-of-11 shooting while forcing four turnovers, and they’ve recorded six deflections as a team.
Senior Julian Rishwain got the start in place of injured wing Jaden Henley and made an early steal that led to a Jailen Bedford 3-pointer. Rishwain was then fouled on a 3-pointer of his own and made all three free throws to push UNLV’s lead to 9-5.
Bedford has also been active early, with a triple, a steal, and an alley-oop layup off a pass from D.J. Thomas. He was a little too active on defense, however — Bedford picked up three quick fouls and had to head to the bench early. That could become a factor, as UNLV is already thin at the wing positions coming into the game.
Injury-depleted UNLV basketball hosts Pepperdine
Just four games into the season, the UNLV basketball team is in “all hands on deck” mode.
A string of injuries have thinned the rotation heading into Wednesday’s home game against Pepperdine (7 p.m., Mountain West Network), leaving head coach Kevin Kruger looking for ways to plug the holes.
“We’re pretty beat up,” Kruger said. “We’ve just got to figure it out.”
Nearly a quarter of the team was inactive at Tuesday’s practice at the Thomas & Mack Center. Starting wing Jaden Henley sat out with a foot injury, Rob Whaley watched from the sideline due to a back injury, and Jace Whiting’s nagging foot injury kept him out.
Henley’s absence is new, and Kruger said he is expected to miss three to four weeks.
That’s a tough blow for the 2-1 Scarlet and Gray, as Henley served as the team’s top wing defender. Through three games, the DePaul transfer was averaging 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 24.3 minutes.
Henley and Whaley will miss the Pepperdine contest, while Whiting will be a game-time decision. Whiting, the team’s backup point guard, missed Thursday’s game against Omaha.
UNLV will be down two of its primary ballhandlers, leaving Kruger and his staff to figure out a way to initiate offense. One option will be extending D.J. Thomas’s playing time; the sophomore point guard has logged 32.3 minutes this season but is capable of going into the upper-30’s if necessary.
Kruger may also ask players like forward Jalen Hill and shooting guard Jailen Bedford to handle the ball more often, even if that hasn’t been their job description until now.
“Not having your backup ballhandler or even your third ballhandler with Jaden, guys are going to have to rely on their ballhandling skills from growing up — even guys who haven’t been asked to do it in a long time,” Kruger said.
Thomas played 37 or more minutes in 13 games as a freshman, including 45- and 43-minute stints.
If he is asked to go the distance on Wednesday, Thomas is ready.
“It’s always next man up, so we’re going to have guys step up,” Thomas said. “And also I have to step my game up as well.”
Team leaders
UNLV (2-1)
Scoring
D.J. Thomas: 18.0 points
Rebounds
Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry: 7.3 rebounds
Assists
D.J. Thomas: 3.0 assists
Pepperdine (1-2)
Scoring
Stefan Todorovic: 25.0 points
Rebounds
Dovydas Butka: 7.3 rebounds
Assists
Moe Odum: 7.0 assists
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
