Bryce Hamilton’s scoring not enough as UNLV falls to Broncos

For the first 14 minutes of the second half, it seemed like nothing was going to stop UNLV senior Bryce Hamilton.

“I was just able to get to my spots,” he said. “Coaches drew up a couple plays for me and my teammates helped me, just believing in me to be able to make those plays. I knew I had to get going in the second half so that’s what I did.”

After a slow, foul-plagued first half prevented him from gaining any kind of offensive rhythm, Hamilton bounced back after the break — slashing to the rim, raining in 3-pointers, and mixing in his mid-range jumper.

The only thing Hamilton wasn’t able to beat was foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul with six minutes remaining, and had to leave the game for several minutes. Without him, UNLV slumped to an 86-76 loss to conference-leading Boise State on Saturday night at the Thomas &Mack Center.

“We showed a lot of fight, a lot of grit,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “To come back on a team like Boise and give ourselves a chance to win, I was really proud of that side of it. But on the other side, you can’t let a team like Boise get a rhythm going and offensively flow like they did.”

The loss snapped UNLV’s three-game win streak and gave Boise State a season sweep of the Rebels.

Led by fifth-year guard Marcus Shaver Jr. and fifth-year forward Abu Kigab, the Broncos (23-6, 14-2 Mountain West) went 6-for-7 from the floor to start the game. BSU also held Hamilton, holding the Mountain West’s leading scorer, to five points in the first half.

Instead, UNLV’s second unit kept them in the game. Needing defense and a counter to Shaver, Rebels coach Kruger turned to freshman Keshon Gilbert.

With Gilbert pestering Shaver and Hamilton stuck on the bench, junior Donovan Williams took command of the offense. The former Texas transfer scored 12 points in 14 first-half minutes, helping UNLV get back into the game.

“That group that went in there changed the tide of the game,” Kruger said. “ They got back in it, they were playing hard, having fun.”

But just as the Rebels (17-12, 9-7) closed within a few points, the Broncos recovered. They drew several charges, and punished UNLV – the Mountain West’s best rebounding team – on the offensive glass. Boise State grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first half for 12 second-chance points and took a 47-41 lead into the break.

Out of halftime, though, it was all Hamilton. He scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half, and made seven of his first eight shots. He left with UNLV down by four points. Three minutes later, as he checked back in, the Rebels trailed by 10.

“There were a number of things tonight that we’ll look back on and be frustrated by,” Kruger said.

UNLV’s next game will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at home against Wyoming. It will be the first matchup between the two teams this season.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.