Feb. 17, 2006
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Brandon Heath scored 25 points and had seven assists Thursday night to lead San Diego State to an 81-70 win over UNLV in what began as a battle of the Mountain West Conference's first and second-place teams.
John Sharper had 19 points and six rebounds off the bench for San Diego State (17-7, 10-2), which moved two games up on now-second-place Air Force. UNLV (13-10, 7-4) dropped into a third place tie with BYU.
Heath and Sharper both hit five of seven shots from three-point range to help San Diego State win its ninth game in 10 outings. Marcus Slaughter had 15 points and Mohamed Abukar had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Aztecs.
Jo'Van Adams led the Rebels with 18 points. Curtis Terry had 13 points and eight rebounds while Louis Amundson added 13 points and six rebounds.
After jumping out to a 20-9 lead in the early going, San Diego State never let the lead shrink to less than three points.
Trailing 42-32 at halftime, the Rebels got back into the game with a 9-2 run that opened the second half and cut the lead to 44-41 with 17:16 left. Amundson scored seven of those nine points, capping the run with a three-pointer.
The Aztecs then responded with a 13-5 run of their own, and the Rebels never got close again.
The final score was San Diego State's largest margin of victory in 20 games at UNLV. The win also gave the Aztecs their first season sweep of the Rebels and marked the first time San Diego State defeated UNLV in two consecutive games.