Rebels suffer another injury, end regular season with loss

The UNLV men’s basketball team is limping to the finish line of an injury-riddled campaign.

That much was clear after the team lost 81-67 to New Mexico in its regular-season finale Friday at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

After the final buzzer, the broadcast cut to UNLV senior guard Julian Rishwain leaving the court on crutches as the Lobos (25-6, 17-3 Mountain West) celebrated their conference regular-season title.

Rishwain, who had a career-high 26 points in UNLV’s 74-67 win over San Diego State on Tuesday, exited Friday’s game with a lower-leg injury after scoring eight points in the first half.

Without him, Kevin Kruger stands to coach the sixth-seeded Rebels (17-14, 11-9) with an even shorter rotation when they next play Wednesday in the first round of the Mountain West tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV was also still without leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr. (shoulder) and hasn’t had forward Rob Whaley or backup point guard Jace Whiting virtually all season because of injuries.

“These guys have been competing and going out there and giving it everything they have,” Kruger told reporters after the loss. “To come in and fight New Mexico the way they did, even down another guy, is something to respect them for.”

Senior forward Jalen Hill had 16 points for the Rebels, and junior center Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry and junior guard Jaden Henley scored 14 each.

Hill said the Rebels haven’t lost faith and still believe they have an opportunity to “make a run” in the tournament.

“We played four guys for pretty much 40 minutes,” Hill said. “So I think it just goes to show how tough every single person in that locker room is: the bigs, the guards, the bench guys who haven’t played much and got thrown into fire. … We’re mentally ready for the next step.”

Senior center Nelly Junior Joseph and junior guard Donovan Dent had 26 and 20 points, respectively, for the Lobos.

It was a one-point game (65-64) with 6:28 to play, but the Rebels didn’t make another field goal until the final 34 seconds.

“Fatigue kicked in obviously a little bit there, but it’s going to happen in the situation we were in,” Kruger said.

By the first media timeout, UNLV had been outscored in the paint 12-6, with Joseph already amassing eight points.

Out of that timeout, Rishwain showed he was ready to pick up where he left off, making his second 3-pointer of the game to match Joseph’s scoring.

The Rebels then had an opportunity to capitalize when a New Mexico player drew a technical foul by bringing his chin over the rim for some extra hang time on a breakaway dunk. However, Henley missed the technical free throws, and it didn’t take long for the Lobos to make a steal for another fast-break dunk, marking New Mexico’s eighth point off a UNLV turnover in less than 10 minutes.

After his injury, Rishwain was shown with a towel covering his head on the bench, clearly emotional as his dad, Brian, attempted to comfort him.

“There’s not a lot you can say to an athlete when they go down and it’s as uncomfortable as he was,” Kruger said. “So (you say), ‘Keep your head up and pray for the best.’ But when we get back to Vegas, we’ll kind of address it from there.”

New Mexico sophomore guard Tru Washington was called for another technical foul in the first half, and Lobos coach Richard Pitino wasn’t far from getting him on his own as the Rebels reached a game-high 30-23 lead with 8:42 until halftime.

But the Lobos went on a 13-2 run a few minutes later en route to a 40-38 advantage at halftime

By the end, New Mexico had just eight turnovers to UNLV’s 16. The Lobos also outscored the Rebels by 20 points in the paint and outrebounded them 35-30.

Hill credited the sold-out crowd in The Pit for making the environment one of the best he’s ever seen.

When asked about the conference tournament being held on home turf for the Rebels, Kruger offered a message to UNLV fans.

“Come support them. Cheer them on,” Kruger said. “These guys have done nothing but fight and compete, and that’s what they’ll do in the next one.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.