Dedan Thomas Jr.
76
Winner UNLV UNLV 11-7,5-2 Mountain West
68
San Diego St. SDSU 11-5,4-3 Mountain West
Winner
UNLV UNLV
11-7,5-2 Mountain West
76
Final
68
San Diego St. SDSU
11-5,4-3 Mountain West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UNLV UNLV 31 45 76
San Diego St. SDSU 23 45 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Runnin' Rebels Shut Down Aztecs Saturday In San Diego, 76-68

Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV with 19 points and five assists as it held the lead for the majority of the game, including the entire second half in second straight win.

 SAN DIEGO (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (11-7, 5-2) defeated San Diego State (11-5, 4-3), 76-68, at Viejas Arena on Saturday. 

The Runnin' Rebels led for the majority of the game, including the entire second half, as they won their second straight game and recorded their first win in San Diego since 2020.

Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV with 19 points and five assists, while Brooklyn Hicks added 13 points and Jaden Henley scored 12.

The Aztecs were led by Miles Byrd's 21 points, all scored in the second half. Nick Boyd added 16 and BJ Davis had 10.

DOWN THE STRETCH: UNLV held off multiple SDSU runs, including at the end of the game as Byrd made a 3-pointer with under two minutes to play to cut SDSU's deficit to four points (67-63). Thomas Jr. responded by driving the lane to find Bear Cherry for the alley-oop. Byrd scored on a layup, but Thomas Jr. came right back to hit a tough turnaround fadeaway from the baseline to make it 71-65 with less than a minute to go. Byrd then missed one and made one from the free-throw line and Thomas Jr. made two free throws with 37 seconds to go to effectively seal the game.

STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV out-rebounded San Diego State, 37-32, and held the Aztecs to just 40% shooting from the field (24 of 60).

OTHER NOTES: 
- UNLV has now won two of its last three games against SDSU with the lone loss during that stretch coming in overtime at the Mountain West Tournament last season.
- UNLV shot 46.4% from the field in the second half (13 of 28), finishing the game at 43.6% (24 of 55). 
- UNLV went to the free throw line nine more times than SDSU did (27-16), outscoring the Aztecs by 11 at the charity stripe (22-11).
- Thomas Jr. was a perfect 10 of 10 on free throws.
- He scored eight of UNLV's final 11 points of the game, all in the final 2:07.
- UNLV held the Aztecs to just 26.9% from the field (7 of 26) in the first half, including 18.8% on 3-pointers (3 of 16), and led 31-23 at the break.
- Henley had a game-high eight rebounds, while Pape N'Diaye added seven and Jailen Bedford collected six.
- Hicks and Bedford combined to score 21 points off the bench. UNLV led in bench scoring 25-11.
- UNLV led by as many as 13 points early in the second half, while San Diego State's biggest lead was just two points at the beginning of the game.
- UNLV led in points off turnovers 17-11 and in fast-break points 11-1.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,245 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will return home for two games next week: vs. Wyoming on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. and vs. New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 12 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. 
 







  
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