SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - Four Runnin' Rebels scored in double figures as the UNLV men's basketball team (6-0) defeated Minnesota 71-62 Wednesday night in the championship game of the SoCal Challenge at the Pavilion at JSerra. The Runnin' Rebels remained perfect through six games, marking their best start to a season in five years.

Keshon Gilbert scored a game-high-tying 17 points with four assists and three steals, while EJ Harkless scored 16 points, Luis Rodriguez added a career-high-tying 15 points with nine rebounds and Jackie Johnson III contributed 13 points on 4 of 7 3-point shooting. Victor Iwuakor also had nine rebounds.

The Golden Gophers (4-2) had three players score in double figures, led by Jamison Battle's 17 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds.

TURNING POINT: UNLV used a 19-4 run over the final 7:47 of the first half to take a commanding 38-24 lead at the half. 

GAME WASN'T AS CLOSE AS FINAL SCORE: UNLV led by as many 22 points late in the second half.

QUOTABLE: "Just really proud of the guys. I thought the biggest concern going into the game was Minnesota's size and length. We knew that we had to be really disruptive and had to get underneath them as much as possible - make those passes as difficult as they could. We had faced similar size in the Dayton game, so I think they really understood when it was discussed how important it was. I thought that our guys did a really good job. A lot of deflections, a lot of turnovers that were untimely for them, which allowed us to run out. Overall, I thought we had an unbelievable effort and it was a good way to finish the trip." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger.

OPPONENT SHOOTING UNDER 40%: The Runnin' Rebels held their fourth opponent of the season under 40% shooting from the field as Minnesota managed only 36.8% (21 of 57).

OTHER NOTES: 
- UNLV recorded at least nine steals in a game for the sixth straight time this season, recording nine swipes against the Golden Gophers.
- Gilbert scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half.
- UNLV shot 46.7% on 3-pointers in the first half (7 of 15).
- UNLV forced Minnesota to commit 17 turnovers for the game, 11 which occurred in the first half. The Runnin' Rebels only had nine miscues on the night.
- Minnesota shot just 2 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half (15.4%).
- UNLV is now 3-1 all-time against Minnesota in men's basketball and 24-15 against teams that currently make up the Big Ten Conference.
- UNLV led in points in the paint 24-18.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,167 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will return home to the Thomas & Mack Center to host Life Pacific on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or at the TMC Box Office.