Feb. 17, 2018
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UNLV-San Diego State Final Box
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State returned to its defensive roots, and showed its budding offense on Saturday in a 38-point rout of UNLV.
Matt Mitchell scored 21 points, Jalen McDaniels added 18 and San Diego State beat the Runnin' Rebels 94-56. The 38-point margin was the largest for either team in the 69 all-time meetings between the teams.
''This is the first real 40-minute effort we have had, and I think it was keyed at the defensive end,'' San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said.
Mitchell shot 7 of 9 from the floor and had a game-high three steals, and McDaniels pulled in 12 rebounds to notch his sixth double-double of the season. Malik Pope scored 17 and grabbed nine rebounds while helping the Aztecs (15-10, 7-7 Mountain West Conference) to a 41-30 rebounding advantage.
Max Montana chipped in 17 points, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, for the Aztecs who shot 50.7 percent from the field (36-71) and pulled to .500 in conference play. Nine of 10 players scored for San Diego State, and the Aztecs have won 65 straight when shooting greater than 50 percent.
San Diego State dished out 22 assists for the second consecutive game. Senior guard Trey Kell led with six assists, his second consecutive game with that many.
''The kids are playing the right way. They're sharing the ball,'' Dutcher said.
Jovan Mooring scored 16 points and Shakur Juiston added 12 for UNLV (19-8, 8-6), which had its three-game win streak snapped. ''Everyone is playing hard, we just weren't playing very smart,'' UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said.
The Aztecs have had a history of second half collapses this season, losing six games in which they were tied or led at halftime. ''It's been a while since we've been able to put two halves like that together,'' Kell said. ''We usually get off to a great start in the first half, and then kind of slack off in the second half and make it more interesting than it needs to be.''
The Aztecs, now riding a two-game winning streak, earned revenge following an 88-78 road loss at UNLV last month in which the Runnin' Rebels shot 58.6 percent from the field.
It was all Aztecs as they rushed off to a 10-2 lead to open the game. UNLV's 14 turnovers in the first half disrupted its offensive flow leading to a season-low 28 first-half points.
UNLV was unable to find itself after halftime, falling victim to more turnovers and an 11-1 run led by Montana's two 3-pointers. The Runnin' Rebels finished with 19 turnovers.
''It's a good time of year to be playing your best basketball,'' Dutcher said.
THE NOTE
The 38-point margin of victory was the second largest ever in a Mountain West Conference game for San Diego State. The Aztecs defeated Wyoming, 96-57, on Jan. 29, 2011.
THE NOTE II
Freshman Jalen McDaniels recorded his sixth double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
STAT OF THE GAME
San Diego State shot 50.7 percent from the field and has won 65 consecutive games when connecting on at least 50 percent of its attempts from the floor.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I know for sure it's been a while since we've been able to put two halves like that together. Tonight, we took the right step forward, played great in the first and second halves and had that complete game." -- Senior guard Trey Kell
UP NEXT
San Diego State will face Air Force (10-15; 4-9 Mountain West) Wednesday evening in Colorado Spring, Colo. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. PT with television coverage on CBS Sports Network and radio coverage on 101.5 KGB, XTRA Sports 1360 and Fox Sports IE 1350.
UNLV will return home to face Fresno State on Wednesday evening.