Donnie Tillman
54
UNLV UNLV 1-3,0-0 Mountain West
71
Winner UCLA UCLA 3-0,0-0 Pac-12
UNLV UNLV
1-3,0-0 Mountain West
54
Final
71
UCLA UCLA
3-0,0-0 Pac-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNLV UNLV 28 26 54
UCLA UCLA 40 31 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Runnin' Rebels Get Down Early, Fall 71-54 At UCLA

Junior forward Donnie Tillman scored a game-high 18 points in loss at Pauley Pavilion.

LOS ANGELES (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team fell behind early at UCLA and fought to make several comeback attempts but they weren't enough as it lost 71-54 Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Four Runnin' Rebels (1-3) scored in double figures, led by junior forward Donnie Tillman with a game-high 18 points. He was 7 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers. He also recorded seven rebounds.

The Bruins (3-0) had three score in double figures, led by Chris Smith's 16 points and eight rebounds.

TRAILED EARLY: UCLA used a 14-0 run to take a 19-5 lead about seven minutes into the game. The Bruins led by as many as 22 in the first half.

DEFICIT CUT: UNLV used a 7-0 run to close the first half and cut UCLA's lead to 12 points at the break (40-28). In the second half, the Runnin' Rebels cut the margin to nine points (50-41) with 11 minutes to go, but couldn't get any closer.

STAT OF THE GAME: UCLA scored 25 points off UNLV's 15 turnovers, while the Runnin' Rebels scored 13 off the Bruins' 17 miscues.

QUOTABLE: "Our defensive effort early - it wasn't the energy we needed, the physicality or the toughness. We got overwhelmed. Whether it was the environment or what the issue was, we just got off to a slow start and didn't get stops like we need to. It is going to be a consistent thing that we need to guard the dribble, need to finish plays on the glass and need to value the basketball. That first six-to-eight minutes, those were the things that weren't happening and that has to be our identity. We dug ourselves a big hole as a result." - UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger

NOTES: 
- It was UNLV's third straight loss, but the first that wasn't in overtime.
- UNLV fell to 0-6 all-time vs. UCLA and 0-3 against the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.
- It was UNLV's second straight game at a Pac-12 opponent and third consecutive against a Power 5 Conference team.
- UCLA shot 49.0 percent from the field (24-49) and 43.5 percent on 3-pointers (10-23), while UNLV was 38.6 percent (22-57) and 30.4 percent (7-23), respectively.
- UCLA out-rebounded UNLV 35-27.
- Amauri Hardy and Elijah Mitrou-Long have scored in double figures in all four games this season.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,074 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will return home for a four-game homestand as part of the Southwestern Showdown presented by Engage Telehealth. The event will feature four single games starting with Abilene Christian at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.



 
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