Short-handed UNLV wears down again in Players Era, but could be healthy soon
A short-handed UNLV basketball team wore down in the second half for a third consecutive game in the Players Era Festival, concluding the event 0-3 with a 80-65 loss to Rutgers at Michelob Ultra Arena.
The Rebels (3-5) were without four scholarship players and had several others on minute restrictions as they faded after halftime yet again Thursday.
UNLV led 39-35 at halftime only to allow an 11-0 run by Rutgers (5-3) out of the break as it started to figure out the Rebels’ zone. The Knights later posted an 8-0 run to pull away.
Kimani Hamilton, Al Green and Tyrin Jones all had 13 points to pace the Rebels.
The event, which saw UNLV play power conference schools in the three games, was a measuring stick early in the season for coach Josh Pastner to see where the Rebels are right now in his first season running the program.
But it’s not an indication of where he believes the team will be once conference play comes around.
“I really believe our team is going to be good,” Pastner said this week. “I really like our team. When we get to Mountain West play and we’re healthy, I think we’re going to be a good basketball team.
“But we’ve got to get healthy.”
Pastner is as encouraged as ever that could be on the horizon.
He is targeting the start of conference play, a home game against Fresno State on Dec. 20, as a realistic time to have the roster close to full strength and in basketball shape for a full workload.
That should mean projected starting center Emmanuel Stephen, an Arizona transfer, finally making his UNLV debut as he recovers from a preseason hip injury.
Jacob Bannarbie has missed the last few games with a calf injury and could be on a similar timeline.
Backup center Ladji Dembele, who has been in and out of the lineup and dealing with minutes restrictions due to a foot injury, also should have more time to get up to speed.
Naas Cunningham was able to return Thursday, but is dealing with an ankle injury. Freshman Mason Abittan has yet to make his collegiate debut due to an ankle injury.
“(The conference opener is) less than a month away, and we’ve kind of targeted that as the particular date, hopefully, that we get to where the guys are no longer on restricted minutes, we can do more things, they can practice fully,” Pastner said. “Even the guys like Ladji, they don’t want to practice right now certain days just because of his foot. Even Issac (WIlliamson) is just trying to get back, and there’s times where he can’t practice.
“I’m hoping (as we get into December), we’re able to get more in a routine, and then by Dec. 20 we have our full roster set.”
The one exception may be projected starting point guard Myles Che. The UC Irvine transfer spent much of the offseason trying to recover from a broken right foot only to suffer a setback on the eve of the season.
“I’m hoping Che is right there too, either right around that time or sometime after Christmas, in that time period,” Pastner said. “That’s what we’re hoping for, as long as the foot heals properly. This is just our luck. He’s our starting point guard, and we looked really good. And then Sunday night (before the opener), no contact, steps on it and refractured the same exact spot. God bless how that happened. I don’t know.”
The Rebels showed some vulnerability against bigger teams in the tournament. Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole hit his first four shots in the first four minutes Thursday and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
“Obviously, I felt all three games we played in this tournament we looked small,” Pastner said. “I just thought we were a small team. We were definitely the smallest team in this field and part of that is because our three 5-men were out with injuries.”
It’s an issue Pastner addressed earlier in the week and one he thinks will be solved largely by getting some players back.
Pastner just doesn’t have the bodies. Yet.
“This is the first time (in my coaching career) I’ve ever had to deal with the amount of injuries that I’ve had, and then the amount of injuries we’ve had and to get guys back, like (Williamson), who he’s not in the condition that he needs to be in because he’s missed so much time, Ladji, the same thing. It’s just guys that we’ve missed a lot, a lot of time.
“I recruited Myles Che to be our starting point guard. It’s hard to play without a true point guard. I recruited Emmanuel Stephen to be a starting center. Those things hurt. Jacob was playing great. You look at our three bigs, and I think it’s so important to have rim protection, post presence, and with our injuries, it’s tough, and then not having a true point guard on the floor at all times makes it really tough, too.”
Creighton 76, Oregon 66: At Michelob Ultra Arena, Blake Harper scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds and the Bluejays outscored the Ducks 16-7 over the last 5½ minutes in another tournament wrap-up game. Owen Freeman added 14 points for Creighton (4-3), while Sean Stewart finished with a career-high 18 points to lead Oregon (4-3).
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
