By Jose Trujillo (@jAy_Ay_T)
Powered by Brandon McCoys’ dominant 22 points and 17 rebounds, UNLV ran past San Jose State 76-67 Wednesday night.
With the win, the Runnin’ Rebels (16-6, 5-4 MW) completed the season series sweep over the Spartans. Both times, San Jose State (3-18, 0-10 MW) proved to be a tough matchup for UNLV.
In the first matchup, four quarters weren’t enough as it took the Rebels overtime to defeat the Spartans.
This time around, San Jose State played and efficient game and hung around long enough to keep UNLV starters on the court until the end.
In the first half, the Spartans gave the Runnin’ Rebels fits behind the scoring of Ryan Welage and Jaycee Hillsman, taking a 28-23 lead with six minutes before halftime.
Then UNLV turned it on. The Rebels ended the first half on a 16-6 run and never looked back.
McCoy nearly had a double-double in the first half with 11 points and eight rebounds. The freshman forward grabbed six offensive rebounds, two more than the entire Spartans team.
This season, the Spartans own a +5.5 margin on the boards in the Mountain West, which lands them near the top of the conference.
Things were different tonight though, as UNLV hammered SJSU on the glass 44-24, including 14-4 on offensive rebounds.
Losing loose balls and being beat in rebounds continue to give opposing teams far too many chances to score, and good teams like UNLV surely took advantage of opportunities.
McCoy also had three blocks and two steals to go along with his colossal double-double. He fell one rebound shy of tying his career high.
Senior guard Jordan Johnson added 15 points, six assists and four rebounds. Shakur Juiston fell one rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
For the Spartans, it’s no surprise Welage once again led the way with 21 points and four rebounds. Oumar Barry also finished with a career-best 12 points and two rebounds. Hillsman added 11 points.
The Spartans will continue to look for the first conference win this season. Their next shot will come Feb. 3 in a home matchup against New Mexico.