UNLV falls to Cal, Cincinnati

The Rebels broke records Saturday, but not the type that warrant celebration. Saturday’s loss to Cincinnati marked the first time since February 2005 that UNLV lost back-to-back games at the Thomas & Mack.

The Runnin’ Rebels (5-2) were handed their first loss by California, 73-55, before falling to the Bearcats 67-65.

UNLV was unable to muster much from three of the four seniors. Wink Adams, Mo Rutledge and René Rougeau combined to shoot 6-of-27 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

The night was a continuation of a cold streak from Friday against Cal when Adams, Rutledge and Rougeau combined to shoot 5-of-25 from the field.

“I’ve never felt like this before,” Rougeau said. “It’s very surprising and very frustrating at the same time.”

The Rebels (5-2) jumped off to a quick 7-0 lead but the Bearcats (5-1) stayed in the game to go ahead, 25-20, with 5:56 left in the first half. Despite the deficit, the Rebels ended the first half strong as they went on an 11-2 run to close out the half with a 31-27 lead after guards Joe Darger and Tre’Von Willis came alive.

“Tre’Von had great energy,” head coach Lon Kruger said. “He was attacking all the time, made a lot of good plays and found Joe [Darger] a couple of times.”

Willis finished with 18 points and four boards in 28 minutes of play and finished 6-of-10 from the field.

Darger knocked down six shots as well, but all of them were behind the 3-point arc. Darger and Willis’ 18 points led the Rebels.

The score stayed close in the second half with the largest lead of the game, six points, was reached with seven minutes left after Cincinnati scored to lead 55-49. The Rebels attempted a comeback, but could never recapture the lead.
The Bearcats struggled as much as the Rebels as both teams shot 39 percent from the field. Cincinnati’s guards were a combined 5-of-29 including Larry Davis’ 0-for-10 performance.

Kruger was reluctant to criticize his team’s performance after the game.

“[We had a] much better attack, much better aggressiveness today,” Kruger said. “Just in the critical stages we needed to knock down a couple of shots. We didn’t; they did. That’s really what made the difference. Close ball game, obviously, all the way.”

Kruger added that his team’s performance against Cincinnati showed a lot more promise after the team’s loss to Cal.

“I like the fight; the energy was much better,” Kruger said. “We approached it more with an understanding of what we have to do to be effective and make progress as a team, which we have a long way to go to do.”

Florida State won the tournament title, beating California 80-77. Darger was the sole member of UNLV’s squad to make the all-tournament team.

The losses will likely knock the Rebels out of potential rankings. Last week, the Rebels sat at the No. 26 position in The Associated Press poll.