RENO, Nev. (UNLVRebels.com) - Kevin Kruger has never lost to UNR. Not as a player or a head coach. 

The UNLV men's basketball team defeated the Wolf Pack in overtime 69-67 Saturday afternoon at Lawlor Event Center and the win gave the Runnin' Rebels their second straight regular-season sweep of the Wolf Pack and improved the UNLV head coach's record against them to 4-0 as a head coach and 5-0 combined as a player (2006 with the Runnin' Rebels).

EJ Harkless recorded his third straight 20+ point scoring game, leading all scorers with 24 points for UNLV (18-12 overall, 7-11 Mountain West). Luis Rodriguez added 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, Jackie Johnson III had 12 points and Justin Webster scored 10. David Muoka tied his career high with 13 rebounds.

UNR (22-9, 12-6) was led by Jarod Lucas' 23 points. Kenan Blackshear added 18 points, while Darrion Williams had 12 rebounds and Nick Davidson collected 10.

FAST START: UNLV started the game by scoring the first 13 points, taking a 13-0 lead with 16:30 to go in the first half. UNR then scored the next 12 to cut its deficit to a point four minutes later.

END OF REGULATION: UNLV trailed by two with under a minute to go when Rodriguez came up with a steal and went the length of the court for a layup to tie the score at 56 with just 10 seconds remaining. Blackshear missed the potential game-winning jumper with a second left.

UNLV closed the second half on a 10-2 run over the last two minutes with a Webster 3-pointer, Rodriguez jumper, and a Harkless 3-pointer to tie it up at 54. 

END OF OVERTIME: Trailing by a point with less than a minute to go in OT, Johnson III, who scored seven points in the extra period, hit a long 3-pointer from NBA range with 43 seconds to go to put the Runnin' Rebels ahead for good. Two Rodriguez free throws with 12 seconds left increased their lead to three, before Blackshear made one of two free throws. A jump ball was called with five seconds left, giving UNR the ball down two, but Williams' potential game-tying jumper missed and UNLV came out on top.

QUOTABLE: "The guys are excited. They should be. They did everything in their power to get this win and deserved to finish the regular-season on a high note. We tried to get a good shot every possession today and we tried to get a stop on each possession on defense. We didn't run out and take any quick, hurried, contested or bad shots in transition and we were patient." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger

OTHER NOTES:
- The win secured three points for UNLV in the Silver State Series competition, which is presented by America First Credit Union
- After losing eight straight in the series to UNR, UNLV has now won four straight against the Wolf Pack.
- It was UNR's only home loss this season (14-1).
- UNLV held UNR to just 21 points in the first half, including the final 6:56 until halftime without a field goal. The Wolf Pack committed nine first-half turnovers and shot 29.2% (7 of 24) from the field over the first 20 minutes.
- Harkless scored 17 of his points in the first half and finished the game 10 of 22 from the floor with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He fouled out with just under a minute to go in regulation.
- Keshon Gilbert was called for a Flagrant 2 foul just over five minutes into the game, which resulted in an automatic ejection.
- UNLV led 31-21 at the half.
- UNR finished the game making just 2 of 12 3-pointers.
- UNR shot 35 free throws to UNLV's 11.
- UNLV's bench outscored UNR's 29-8. 
- The game had six lead changes and it was tied on eight occasions.
- UNLV improved its record in overtime to 1-2 on the season.
- Cameron Burist played a season-high 10 minutes.
- UNLV was again without starter Elijah Parquet because of injury.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,191 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will open up play in the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, March 8 as the No. 7 seed. It will face No. 10 seed Air Force at 1:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or in person at the TMC Box Office.