“Runnin’ Rebels play Pacific at Lee’s Family Forum on Saturday Night”

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV men’s basketball team (4-4) will play Pacific (5-6) in its road game in Henderson at Lee’s Family Forum on Saturday, December 14th at 7:30 p.m. The game is part of the Jack Jones Classic, which also features Bradley vs. Santa Clara earlier in the day, followed by VCU vs. Colorado State.

The Runnin’ Rebels will return to action for the first time since last Saturday’s loss at Creighton. The game against the Tigers will be just UNLV’s second in 14 days. Before traveling to Omaha, the Runnin’ Rebels played at the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe over Thanksgiving. After entering this event on a three-game winning streak, UNLV lost to then-No. 25 Mississippi State and Northwestern on consecutive event days.

The Runnin’ Rebels opened their season with a five-game homestand November 4-23 with wins over Alabama State, a loss to Memphis and wins over Omaha, Pepperdine and New Mexico State at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Dedan Thomas Jr. leads UNLV with 16.8 points per game this season, while Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry is second with 11.8 ppg Jailen Bedford is third with 10.9 ppg. Cherry leads in rebounding with 6.4 rpg, field goal percentage with 69.1% and blocks with 1.6 bpg, while Thomas Jr. is the team’s assist leader with 3.6 apg and Hill in steals leads with 2.0 sg. Thomas Jr.’s 47 free throws rank 49th nationally.

UNLV is in its fourth season under head coach Kevin Kruger. He has a career record of 62-44.

ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season’s UNLV squad features six returning players from last year’s team as well as ten newcomers. The additions consist of four Division I transfers, one junior college transfer and five freshmen. UNLV has eight upperclassmen, including two sixth-year players. A total of six players on the squad play in their hometown of Las Vegas. The Runnin’ Rebels return two starters at sophomore guard Dedan Thomas Jr.who was the Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year last season and was named to the preseason all-conference team this season, as well as senior forward Rob Whaley Jr. (currently injured) striker Jalen Hill is also back for his sixth year of college after suffering a season-ending knee injury in January. Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring and assists last year with 13.6 and 5.1 per game, respectively, Whaley Jr. averaged 7.6 ppg and 3.6 rpg, while Hill averaged 10 in seven contests. Scored 7 ppg and 6.1 rpg.

LAST TIME: In last Saturday’s 83-65 loss at Creighton, which was UNLV’s first true road game of the season, Jailen Bedford scored a season-high 20 points while Dedan Thomas Jr. added 18 and Julian Rishwain was also in double digits with 10 points. Creighton shot 73.1% from the field (19 of 26) in the second half, including 62.5% on three-pointers (5 of 8). UNLV led 22-21 with 7:46 left in the first half, but Creighton used an 18-5 run to take a 39-27 lead at halftime. The Bluejays also scored the first 10 points of the second half within three minutes to extend the lead to 22 points (49-27).

ABOUT PACIFIC: Pacific enters Saturday’s game on a two-game losing streak: Dec. 7 against Colorado (75-66) and last Saturday against Illinois State (72-61). The Tigers have victories this season against Jessup, San Jose State, Live Pacific, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Cal State Fullerton, while their other losses have come against Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Arkansas and Missouri. Pacific has three players with double-digit points, led by Elias Ralph with 17.3 ppg and Elijah Fisher with 16.8 ppg. Ralph also leads the team in rebounding (8.0 RPG), while Lamar Washington is the team’s assists leader with an average of 11.2 PPG (6.6 APG, 12th in the country). Ralph also leads the team in field goal percentage (51.5) and blocks (14) and ranks seventh nationally in double-doubles with seven goals. The team ranks 54th nationally in rebounding (39.9 rpg). In the preseason coaches’ poll, Pacific was expected to finish 10th in the West Coast Conference this season. The team had an overall record of 6-26 last season and finished ninth in the WCC with a league mark of 0-16. The Tigers, whose 15-man roster includes eight upperclassmen, are coached by Dave Smart, who is in his first season at the school. Widely considered the winningest Canadian college basketball coach of all time, Smart came to Pacific after serving as an assistant coach at Texas Tech last season.

TRANSFER INFORMATION: Saturday’s game will be streamed on BallerTV (subscription), with Tony Cordasco and Marty Bahar calling the shots. Matt Neverett, former Runnin’ Rebel Curtis Terry and Steve Cofield will host the radio call on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas. All streaming links and live stats are available on UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels app.

TICKETS: Tickets for Saturday’s games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson can be purchased at LeesFamilyForum.com.

LAST SEASON: The Runnin’ Rebels had their best season in over a decade in 2023-24, as they were invited to the postseason for the first time since 2013, advanced to the NIT quarterfinals and secured their first postseason win in 16 years. In his third season at the helm, Kruger led the team to 21 wins for the first time since the 2012-13 season and led the team to a 12-4 record in their last 16 games.

UNLV recorded its first win over a top-10 team in four years, its first in non-conference play in nine seasons and beat a total of four ranked teams in a single season for the first time in 11 years. 2023-24 Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year Dedan Thomas Jr. set the Mountain West assists record with 174 and also led the nation in assists among freshmen.