Jordan McCabe
74
Winner Wichita St. WSU 4-1,0-0 AAC
73
UNLV UNLV 3-2,0-0 Mountain West
Winner
Wichita St. WSU
4-1,0-0 AAC
74
Final
73
UNLV UNLV
3-2,0-0 Mountain West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wichita St. WSU 31 43 74
UNLV UNLV 39 34 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Runnin' Rebels Lose Heartbreaker To Wichita State, 74-73

After Keshon Gilbert's go-ahead putback with five seconds to play, he was called for a foul and Wichita State made both free throws to win by one in the Roman Main Event consolation game Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (3-2) lost a heartbreaker to Wichita State, 74-73, in the consolation game of the Roman Main Event Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.

After a Keshon Gilbert putback with five seconds to play put the Runnin' Rebels up by one, he was called for a foul and Tyson Etienne made both free throws to give the Shockers the one-point win.

Bryce Hamilton scored a team-high 18 points, while Michael Nuga scored a season-high 13. Jordan McCabe added 11 points with a season-high eight assists with only one turnover. Royce Hamm Jr. had a game-high 11 rebounds. 

Wichita State (4-1) was led by Etienne's game-high 28 points. He was 8 of 17 from the field, including 6 of 12 on 3-pointers, making five of his 3s in the second half. He also had a team-high four assists. Kenny Pohto added 12 points and Ricky Council IV had 10.

THE TURNING POINT: UNLV led by as many as 11 points early in the second half and a 12-2 Wichita State run put the Shockers in front by three with 4:41 to go. Neither team led by more than three the rest of the way. 

DRY SPELL: UNLV went 10 minutes without a field goal as Gilbert's putback at 10:06 to play until his shot with five seconds left were the Runnin' Rebels' only made field goals down the stretch.

STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV shot season highs of 49.0% from the field and 47.4% on 3-pointers. The Runnin' Rebels also made all 14 of their free throw attempts.

QUOTABLE: "It obviously stings. But I'm proud of the guys for their fight and the growth through these two games, going toe-to-toe with two established programs. Hopefully it can be a kind of vote of confidence. These last two games had a NCAA tournament environment and feel to them and I think going forward we can use this experience to just get better." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger

NOTES: 
- This was the first meeting between Wichita State and UNLV in men's basketball in six years. 
- WSU now leads the all-time series with the Runnin' Rebels 4-1.
- UNLV is now 6-4 all-time in games played on the Strip and 3-3 in T-Mobile Arena.
- Wichita State made 8 of 17 3-pointers in the second half after making just 4 of 13 during the first 20 minutes.
- UNLV shot 60% in the first half from the field, including 55.6% on 3-pointers.
- Hamilton made all eight of his free-throw attempts.
- UNLV committed a season-high 18 turnovers, but stole the ball a season-high 10 times.
- UNLV led 39-31 at the half.
- The 73 points scored by UNLV was a season high.
- UNLV outscored Wichita State in points in the paint, 30-16, but the Shockers' bench outscored the Runnin' Rebels' 32-16.
- There were seven lead changes and five ties throughout. 
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,134 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will return to the Thomas & Mack Center this week to host Whittier College on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 6:30 p.m. and No. 2 UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. The program will retire Freddie Banks' jersey on Saturday.

TICKETS: Tickets can be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.



 
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