LAS VEGAS – Matt Bradley surpassed 2,000 career points and the Aztecs had another strong offensive performance on Saturday afternoon, en-route to a 76-67 win over UNLV at the Thomas and Mack Center.
The Aztecs (11-3, 2-0 MW) and Rebels (11-3, 0-2 MW) traded buckets early on, with Bradley and Lamont Butler scoring five early points each, before UNLV used an 8-0 run to take a 17-10 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.
Aguek Arop ended the Rebels run with a dunk off a nice feed from Darrion Trammell to make it a 17-12 game. Trammell would get on the scoresheet himself a few minutes later, connecting on a tough three pointer, making it a two point UNLV lead, 19-17, with 10 minutes to go in the half.
Arop would tie the game at 21-21 and then give the Aztecs the lead 23-21 when he scored on two straight possessions before Trammell made another three to give the Aztecs a 26-23 lead with 7:02 left in the first half. Bradley then sank his second triple of the game to give the Aztecs a 31-23 lead, which capped a 14-2 San Diego State run to retake control of the game. That three gave Bradley 2,000 career points for his career, making him the eighth active player to reach that milestone.
San Diego State would end the half on a 34-16 run over the final 12 minutes to take a 44-33 lead at the halftime break. Bradley finished the half with 14 points, while Arop was a perfect 5-5 from the field for 10 points.
Both teams would find scoring hard to come by to begin the second half, with only the Rebels able to sink a basket in the opening four minutes of the half. Arop then came through again, for his sixth bucket of the game, this one a monster slam to get the Aztecs on the board in the half, and still lead 48-36.
UNLV would then go on a 7-0 run to make it a 48-43 game with 12:30 left, before Bradley and Trammell would answer with a run of their own, sinking back-to-back threes, extending the Aztecs lead to 57-43.
The Rebels would go on another run to make it a five point game, 59-54, with 4:08 left before Bradley made two free throws to bring the SDSU lead back to seven, 61-54. Trammell would then ice the game with another three with 1:40 to go to make it a 66-57 game. UNLV would result to fouling for the remainder of the game, but the Aztecs made their free throws to secure the 76-67 win.
Bradley finished with 23 points on 6-14 shooting from the field, including 5-10 from bonus distance, while Trammell scored 21 points on 4-5 shooting from behind the arc, and 9-11 from the charity stripe.
Up Next: The Aztecs travel to Laramie, Wyoming to play at Wyoming on Saturday, January 7th at 8 p.m. MT.
Bradley and Trammell Lead Aztecs Past UNLV, 76-67
