Men's Basketball 2/27/2025 2:10:00 PM

Runnin' Rebels Host Intrastate Rival UNR Friday Night

UNLV has won four of its last five games; Silver State Series contest is set for 8 p.m. on FS1.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, which has won four of its last five games, will return home to the Thomas & Mack Center to host intrastate rival UNR on Friday, Feb. 28. The 8 p.m. game, which will be televised nationally on FS1, is part of the Silver State Series, presented by America First Credit Union.

UNLV is coming off a 77-71 road win at San Jose State on Tuesday night. Prior to that game, the Runnin' Rebels had held their previous four opponents to just 55.3 points per game on average and 36.8% shooting.

UNLV (15-13, 9-8) had won three straight - a 68-57 road win at Wyoming on Feb. 8, which snapped a five-game losing streak, a 77-52 home win over Air Force on Feb. 11 and a 52-51 road win at Fresno State on Feb. 15 - before falling on Saturday evening at home to Colorado State, 61-53. That game was UNLV's first without point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who missed because of injury. He also missed Tuesday night's game at SJSU.

UNR (16-12, 8-9) has won five of its last seven and is coming off an 84-61 home win over Wyoming on Tuesday.

UNLV has three players averaging double figures in scoring: Dedan Thomas Jr. with 15.6 points per game (8th in MW), Jaden Henley with 11.5 ppg and Jailen Bedford with 10.3 ppg. Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry, Julian Rishwain and Jalen Hill are all averaging between 9.9 ppg and 7.9 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 5.3 rpg and blocks with 1.5 bpg (2nd in MW), while Thomas Jr. is the team's assist leader with 4.7 apg (3rd in MW) and Henley leads in steals with 1.6 spg.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 73-53 (.579).

PROMOTIONS: All fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. 1,000 free red RebelMania T-Shirts will be given away to students and 1,500 limited print RebelMania posters will be handed out for all fans. In addition, two tickets to the TNA Wrestling event at the Cox Pavilion will be given away as will four tickets to the AEW Collision event at Virgin Resort. Free Raising Canes will be available for students at the Rebellion Tailgate and there will be an AEG ticket promotion for one lucky fan to win free tickets to see Kevin Hart.

TICKETS: Tickets to UNLV men's basketball home games may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.

ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season's UNLV squad features six returners from last year's team along with 10 newcomers. The newcomers are made up of four Division I transfers, a junior college transfer and five freshmen. UNLV has eight upperclassmen, including two sixth-year players. A total of six players on the roster are playing in their hometown of Las Vegas. The Runnin' Rebels returned two starters from last year's team in sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who was the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year last season and was named to this season's preseason all-conference team (has missed the last two games because of injury), and senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. (currently injured) Forward Jalen Hill is also back for a sixth year of college after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January of 2024 (in the MW opener at San Diego State). Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring and assists last year with 13.6 and 5.1 per game, respectively, Whaley Jr. had averages of 7.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while Hill averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg in seven contests.

LAST TIME OUT: Tuesday's win at San Jose State marked UNLV's second-straight regular-season sweep of the Spartans as it won 77-71. It was the Runnin' Rebels' fourth victory in their last five games, but their first without starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. He missed his second straight game with an injury. Five UNLV players scored in double figures in the same game for the third time this season, led by Jaden Henley's career-high 22 points. Jalen Hill added 17, Bear Cherry scored 14, Jailen Bedford contributed 13 and Julian Rishwain tallied 11. UNLV shot 50.9% from the field (28-55), improving its record this season to 6-0 when shooting 50% or better. The game had nine lead changes and eight ties throughout. UNLV's largest lead was nine points early in the second half (47-38). UNLV shot 16 of 21 from the free-throw line, making the most important ones when it really mattered. In the final 19 seconds, SJSU cut its deficit to three multiple times and just two points once, but Henley and Hill were a perfect 6 of 6 from the line during that span keeping the Spartans at bay. For the game, those two combined to make 12 of 14 free throws.

ABOUT UNR: The Wolf Pack have won five of their last seven and are coming off an 84-61 home win over Wyoming on Tuesday. UNR is 3-6 in true road games this season. The team is led in scoring and rebounding by Nick Davidson (16.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Kobe Sanders is second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and leads in assists (4.4 apg). The Wolf Pack are second in the MW and 24th in the country in field-goal percentage (.486) and second in the league and 44th in 3-point percentage (.369). UNR was predicted to finish third in the Mountain West this season in the preseason coaches' poll, earning one of 26 first-place votes. Sanders was the league's Preseason Newcomer of the Year, while Davidson was recognized on the preseason All-MW team. The Wolf Pack had an overall record of 26-8 last season, finishing second in the MW with a league mark of 13-5. Their season ended in the NCAA Tournament's first round with a loss to No. 7-seed Dayton. UNR has nine upperclassmen on its 14-man roster. Head coach Steve Alford is in his sixth year at the school with a record of 111-71 (.610) and is in his 34th season overall as a Division I head coach with a career mark of 699-369 (.655).

LAST TIME VS. UNR: In the season's first meeting between the two teams on Feb. 1 in Reno, UNR won 71-65. UNLV trailed by 12 points early in the second half, but used a 14-4 run to cut its deficit to just two at 50-48 with a little over 10 minutes to go. It was extremely tight from there as a Jaden Henley 3-pointer gave the Runnin' Rebels a 57-55 lead with seven minutes to go and later, back-to-back 3-pointers by Julien Rishwain tied the score at 63-63 with 2:30 left. A Dedan Thomas Jr. jumper tied the game at 65-65 with 1:17 remaining, but UNLV did not score again as the Wolf Pack finished the game on a 6-0 run. Henley scored 14 points, while Bear Cherry and Thomas Jr. each had 12. Cherry was 4 of 5 from the field. Jailen Bedford added nine points and Jalen Hill contributed eight. Pape N'Diaye led the team in rebounding with five, while Henley and Rishwain each recorded three steals. UNLV committed 15 turnovers, which led to 17 points for UNR.

BROADCAST INFO: Friday's game will be televised nationally on FS1 with Nick Koop and Matt Muehlbach calling the action. The radio call will be handled by Matt Neverett, former Runnin' Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield, which may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas and worldwide on SiriusXM 384. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Jalen Hill: F; 6' 6"; Sixth Year

#11 Dedan Thomas Jr.: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#5 Rob Whaley Jr.: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#10 Jaden Henley: G; 6' 7"; Junior

#14 Jailen Bedford: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#20 Julian Rishwain: G; 6' 6"; Sixth Year

#22 Pape N'Diaye: F; 7' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Jalen Hill
: 6' 6"; Sixth Year
: F

#11 Dedan Thomas Jr.
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#5 Rob Whaley Jr.
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#10 Jaden Henley
: 6' 7"; Junior
: G

#14 Jailen Bedford
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#20 Julian Rishwain
: 6' 6"; Sixth Year
: G

#22 Pape N'Diaye
: 7' 0"; Freshman
: F