Dedan Thomas Jr.
77
Fresno St. Fresno 4-9,0-2 Mountain West
87
Winner UNLV UNLV 7-5,1-0 Mountain West
Fresno St. Fresno
4-9,0-2 Mountain West
77
Final
87
UNLV UNLV
7-5,1-0 Mountain West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fresno St. Fresno 30 47 77
UNLV UNLV 48 39 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Runnin' Rebels Start Mountain West Play With 87-77 Win Over Fresno State

Dedan Thomas Jr. led four UNLV players in double figures with 21 points and six assists Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in team's second straight win and third in its last four games.

 LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (7-5, 1-0) defeated Fresno State 87-77 Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in its Mountain West opener.

Dedan Thomas Jr. led four Runnin' Rebels in double figures in scoring with a game-high 21 points and six assists. Jailen Bedford added 18 points, while Jaden Henley scored a season-high-tying 15 and Pape N'Diaye added a career-high 11.

The Bulldogs (4-9, 0-2) also had four players score in double digits, led by Jasir Tremble's 19 points and Mykell Robinson's 18 with seven assists.

BIG LEAD: UNLV led by as many as 23 points with four minutes left in the first half (40-17) thanks to a three-plus minute, 12-0 run.

LEAD TRIMMED: The Runnin' Rebels held a 48-30 advantage at the break, but Fresno State made it a seven-point game with 16:19 to go and eventually trailed by just four with 13 minutes left. However, UNLV used a 7-0 spurt  from there and increased its lead back to 18 on a couple of occasions with less than five minutes remaining.

STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 64.5% in the first half (20 of 31), including 53.8% on 3-pointers (7 of 13). The Runnin' Rebels finished the game at 53.8% from the field (35 of 65), finishing above 50% for just the second time this season. UNLV also out-rebounded Fresno State 39-27 and allowed the Bulldogs to grab just six offensive rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "I thought we did a great job of sharing the ball and had some great defensive possessions that led to a lot of really good offensive possessions in the first half. In the second half, we just couldn't seem to get five guys going at the same time except for just a few-minute stretch after they cut it to four. Hopefully this can be a confidence builder for us. To hold on and get the win and get off to a good start in conference play is all that matters. We are extremely excited about it and now will get ready for another very unique challenge coming up (at Air Force)." - UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger.

NOTES: 
- UNLV improved its all-time record against Fresno State to 37-19 with its third straight win over the Bulldogs.
- It was UNLV's second straight win and third in its last four games.
- Henley was 6 of 8 from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts, while also grabbing five rebounds.
- Brooklyn Hicks had a game-high-tying, team-high and career-high eight rebounds.
- Bedford made three 3-pointers.
- UNLV had 19 assists with only 10 turnovers. The 19 assists was its second-highest total of the season.
- Fresno State shot 55.2% from the field in the second half (16 of 29), including 50% on 3-pointers (8 of 16).
- Robinson added a team-high eight rebounds and made four 3-pointers, while Tremble made five 3-pointers.
- Zaon Collins had seven assists with only one turnover, along with four rebounds and three steals.
- UNLV never trailed in the game, led 50-28 in points in the paint and its bench outscored Fresno State's by 10 (33-23). 
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,239 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will play at Air Force on New Year's Eve day (Tuesday, Dec. 31) at 1 p.m. PT. Its next home game will be on Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. San Jose State at 3 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets to UNLV men's basketball home games at the Thomas & Mack Center may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-3267 or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office. 


 







  
Print Friendly Version