LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Four UNLV men's basketball players scored in double figures, led by junior guard Amauri Hardy's 20 points, as the Runnin' Rebels defeated Jackson State 80-57 on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Junior forward Mbacke Diong recorded the third double-double of his career (second of the season) with 19 points and 13 rebounds for UNLV (3-5), while sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton and senior forward Nick Blair added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Jackson State (1-6) was led by Tristan Jarrett's 23 points.
TURNING POINT: UNLV used a 16-0 run to take a 21-point lead (73-52) with 3:18 to go.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 32 of 56 from the field for a season-high field-goal percentage of 57.1 percent.
RUNNIN' REBELS OF THE GAME: Hardy and Diong combined to shoot 15 of 23 from the field (65 percent). Hardy was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers and also dished out a game-high six assists.
QUOTABLE: "We have to get stops, we have to value the ball. There were long stretches tonight where we didn't do either and gave Jackson State some confidence, which to their credit they hung in. Fortunately, in the second half we kicked it in and had some energy and enthusiasm and played the way we like to play, getting stops, outletting the ball, pushing in transition and attacking early. Instead of having glimpses, if we can become that team over a consistent period of time, we have a chance to be pretty good." - UNLV head coach
T.J. Otzelberger.
NOTES:
- This was UNLV's final game of the Southwestern Showdown presented by Engage Telehealth, a stretch of four home games in an eight-day span.
- The All-Tournament team featured three from the game: Hardy and Diong (UNLV), Jayveous McKinnis (Jackson State).
- This was the first meeting ever between the two schools in men's basketball and UNLV improved to 5-0 all-time against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
- UNLV recorded a season-high 21 assists, also committing 21 turnovers.
- UNLV outrebounded Jackson State 44-26, led in points in the paint 44-20, in second-chance points 22-6 and bench scoring 25-12.
- The Runnin' Rebels made 9 of 20 3-pointers (45 percent).
- UNLV junior guard
Jonah Antonio was held out with a hand injury for the third straight game.
- Hardy has scored 20 or more points in three games this season.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,078 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will head back out on the road as the Thomas & Mack Center gets set to host the National Finals Rodeo. The Runnin' Rebels will play at Cincinnati on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Ohio and shown on ESPN3 outside of the FSO viewing area.
