Dedan Thomas scored 19 points and put UNLV ahead for good on a 19-foot jumper with 18.6 seconds left, giving the Rebels a 62-58 victory over No. 21 San Diego State on Tuesday night.
It was the fourth win against a ranked team for the surging Rebels (19-10, 12-5 Mountain West), who have won 10 of 11 overall. Keylan Boone had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Saunders led San Diego State (22-8, 11-6) with 14 points, one of four Aztecs to score in double figures. Jaedon LeDee, who entered first in the conference with 20.8 points per game, was held to 12 on 2-of-12 shooting.
San Diego State has dominated this rivalry in recent years, beating the Rebels in 37 of the previous 48 meetings including 13 of 14 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
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San Diego State, which missed its first 13 shots, didn't score until Ledee's free throw 4:57 into the game and didn't make a field goal until Reese Waters' 3-pointer with 7:52 elapsed. But the Aztecs got back into contention, going on a 13-1 run after UNLV took a 27-10 lead to close the gap to five points.
The Rebels held onto the lead until Lamont Butler made a 3 and then stole the ball and put in a layup to tie it at 58 with 44.6 seconds left.
Thomas then answered with his basket to put UNLV back in front, and Kalib Boone blocked Micah Parrish's 3-point attempt. Thomas' two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining sealed the victory.
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San Diego State: Will host Boise State on Friday in the regular-season finale.
UNLV: Plays at Nevada on Saturday to close the regular season.
