The Broncos traveled to Las Vegas on Tuesday night to take on the Running Rebels of UNLV in a game with major NCAA Tournament implications. Riding a four game win streak and coming off a historic night against Colorado State, the Broncos looked to move into solo fourth position in the Mountain West for the
time being.
The Broncos took down the Running Rebels 77-72 on Feb. 2 at Taco Bell Arena to break a two game losing streak. Tuesday was a different story, however, as the Broncos dropped at heartbreaker at the Thomas & Mack Center, 68-64.
The Broncos got off to a hot start, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead, forcing an early UNLV timeout. The Running Rebels would claw their way back into the game, but not for long, as the Broncos stretched their lead back out to nine for a good portion of the
opening period.
Sophomore guard, Derrick Marks, the unstoppable hot hand against Colorado State, was virtually non-existent as he picked up two early fouls and sat the majority of the half. Marks would score just four points in the first half and would finish with that total for the night.
Sophomore guard Anthony Drmic led the way for the Broncos in the opening half, scoring 10 of his game high 22 as the Broncos took a 32-25 lead into the break.
The tables were turned on the Broncos in the second half, as UNLV opened the period on an 8-0 run to take a 33-32 lead. The Broncos finally got on the board on a Drmic three-pointer four minutes into the half to reclaim the lead.
With Marks and Drmic in foul trouble and Marks struggling offensively, junior guard, Jeff Elorriaga, took control for the Broncos on the offensive end of the floor, as he followed Drmic’s 22 points, with 19 of his own. Elorriaga regained the lead for the Broncos late in the half, following three condsecutive three-pointers.
As both teams battled back-and-forth, Marks sat the bench most of the evening before fouling out with just over three minutes remaining.
Drmic, the game’s leading scorer, fouling out with one minute left and the Rebels clinging to a three point lead, spelled trouble for the Broncos. UNLV freshman guard, Katin Reinhardt, put the nail in the coffin for a UNLV win as he got the soft bounce off the rim on his third three pointer of the half, after he started out 0-8 from beyond the arc.
The Broncos (20-9, 8-7 in MW) will face San Diego State this Saturday at 1:30 p.m in Taco Bell Arena.
