Connect with us
Dice+

UNLV

UNLV Rebels Beat Princeton 84-77 in NIT Opener

UNLV Rebels

The UNLV Rebels men’s basketball team won its first postseason win in 16 years, 84-77, over Princeton in the NIT.

UNLV’s last postseason game was against Kent State in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. This marks its first NIT victory since 2005 when it defeated Arizona State at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“Couldn’t be happier for them and prouder of them for the fight in the second half, especially,” UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger said. “In the first half, I thought we did a lot of really good things and went on some really good runs, but Princeton went on some better runs. We found ourselves in a hole and I felt like we were just a half-step slow. The guys came out in the second half and had the start that we had to have. What ended up being the difference in the game was being aggressive and assertive there and getting looks that we wanted.” 

The Rebels closed the first half by scoring the last four points. They opened the second half on a 13-5 run to take a 49-43 lead with just over 15 minutes left.  UNLV extended its lead to 15 with over five minutes left. Princeton made a push and reduced the lead to four with 40 seconds left. The Rebels were clutch at the free-throw line, hitting seven of eight free throws to close the game.

Rob Whaley Jr. led the Rebels in scoring with 21 points, making all eight of his shots. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Keylan Boone added 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Justin Webster pitched with 15 points.

UNLV shot amazingly from the field at 60.8% and 47.1% from beyond the arc. The Rebels will take Boston College on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at home.

Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!

Related Topics

More in UNLV