Runnin' Rebels Fall In Sunshine Slam Semifinal To Florida State, 83-75

Monday, November 20

Daytona Beach, FL

2:30 PM PT

University of Nevada Las Vegas

2-2,0-0Mountain West

Florida State

3-1,0-0ACC

Team	1	2	F
Florida St.	42	41	83
UNLV	35	40	75

Runnin' Rebels Fall In Sunshine Slam Semifinal To Florida State, 83-75

11/20/2023 6:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score FINAL STATS (PDF)

Five UNLV players scored in double figures as both teams shot over 56%.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (UNLVRebels.com) - Five Runnin' Rebel players scored in double figures and both teams shot over 56% from the field, but the UNLV men's basketball team fell to Florida State, 83-75, in the semifinals of the Sunshine Slam at the Ocean Center on Monday.

Kalib Boone led UNLV (2-2) with 15 points on 7 of 11 from the field with five rebounds and a blocked shot, while Jalen Hill, Dedan Thomas Jr. and Justin Webster each scored 13. Louis Rodriguez added 12 points.

Florida State (3-1) had four players in double figures and was led by Jamir Watkins' 19 points on 8 of 11 from the field.

GAME OF RUNS: FSU started the game on a 9-2 spurt and led 23-10 about halfway through the first half. UNLV cut its deficit to four at 39-35 near the end of the first half but Watkins hit a long 3-pointer as time expired to give his team a seven-point advantage at the break.

Florida State increased its lead to 57-43 but a 9-0 UNLV run that included a Jackie Johnson III drive and score, a Jalen Hill steal on the inbound pass and layup, then a Kalib Boone dunk cut it to 57-52 with 12:26 to go. UNLV trailed 63-58 with under nine minutes left but Florida State pulled away.

HOT SHOOTING: Florida State shot 62.7% (32 of 51) from the field, while UNLV made 56.9% (29 of 51). The Seminoles made 5 of 9 3-pointers in the first half (55.6%), and were 0 for 3 from long distance after halftime. UNLV managed just 2 of 10 for the night on 3-pointers, making 2 of 6 in the first half and going 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.

QUOTABLE: "They jumped out to a big lead and that ended up being the difference. It is going to be really tough to win a game when a team shoots 63%. We shot 57% and I think we did a great job of getting the ball where it needed to be, taking good shots and playing strong, but unfortunately tonight it was on the defensive side that hurt us." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger.

OTHER NOTES:
- This was only the second all-time meeting between the two programs. The first was a UNLV win in Las Vegas in 1990.
- Darin Green Jr. added 16 points for FSU, Cameron Corhen was 6 of 7 from the field with 14 points and De'Ante Green was 4 of 5 for 10 points.
- Watkins had a game-high eight assists, while Cam'ron Fletcher led FSU in rebounding with six. Baba Miller collected five boards and had a game-high three blocks.
- Thomas Jr. had a game-high-tying six rebounds and a team-high six assists for the Runnin' Rebels.
- Hill (3), Rodriguez (3) and Webster (2) combined for eight steals.
- FSU led in rebounding (27-24) and fast-break points (18-9), while UNLV led in points in the paint (54-46).
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,197 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will face Richmond in the Sunshine Slam's third-place game on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed on FloSports. The Spiders lost to No. 18 Colorado 64-59 in the other semifinal game of the event.

TICKETS: UNLV men's basketball tickets may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-3267 or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.