SAN JOSE, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - Freshman forward Joel Ntambwe scored a game-high 20 points and sophomore guard Amauri Hardy added 15 as the UNLV men's basketball team won 71-64 at San José State on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Mbacke Diong and senior guard Noah Robotham also scored in double figures for UNLV (14-11, 8-5) with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Senior guard Kris Clyburn collected a career- and game-high 14 rebounds.
SJSU (3-21, 0-12) lost its 15th straight game and was led by Michael Steadman's 16 points.
THE KEY MOMENT: Hardy made a late 3-pointer, just beating the shot clock, with 1:17 left, putting the Runnin' Rebels up 64-57. It the final field goal of the game for UNLV as it made seven free throws the rest of the way.
STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV held the Spartans to just 17.4 percent from 3-point range (4 of 23) and they shot just 38.1 percent from the free-throw line (8 of 21).
RUNNIN' REBEL OF THE GAME: Ntambwe was 6 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.
COMEBACK WIN: It marked UNLV's seventh win of the season when trailing at the half. The Runnin' Rebels were down for the game's final time with just under 10 minutes to go.
NOTES:
- UNLV has matched last year's MW win total of eight victories in just its 13th conference game. UNLV finished league play with an 8-10 record last season.
- It was UNLV's second straight win and third victory in its last four games.
- It was the Runnin' Rebels' third straight win over the Spartans and their 10th in the last 12 games.
- UNLV went 2-0 against the Spartans during the regular season, also winning in Las Vegas on Jan. 19 (94-56).
- UNLV is now 16-4 all-time at SJSU.
- UNLV out-rebounded the Spartans 48-41 for the game, marking the 19th time this season it has recorded more rebounds than its opponent.
- There were 12 lead changes and seven ties throughout the game.
- San José State scored 34 points in the paint to the Runnin' Rebels' 18.
- UNLV led in second-chance points, 19-7.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,064 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will play at Wyoming on Tuesday, Feb. 19. The 7 p.m. PT game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
