LAS VEGAS - Lamont Butler scored five points over the final 1:06 to tie a game that No. 21-ranked San Diego State once trailed by 17, but it was not enough as the Aztecs fell to UNLV 62-58 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.
Elijah Saunders led San Diego State (22-8, 11-6 Mountain West) with 14 points, one of four Aztecs to score in double figures. Saunders' four three-pointers were a career-high. Jaedon LeDee added 12 points and seven rebounds while Micah Parrish scored 11 points and Butler put up ten and four steals. Jay Pal also had seven rebounds for SDSU and Darrion Trammell tallied seven assists and four swipes for the Scarlet and Black.
"It felt good," said Saunders on his shooting. "My shots have been feeling really good lately. I was in rhythm."
It was the fourth win against a ranked team for the surging Rebels (19-10, 12-5), who have won 10 of 11 overall. Keylan Boone had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dedan Thomas led UNLV with 19 points.
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.
UNLV took an early 27-10 lead to begin the game but the Aztecs got back into contention, going on a 13-1 run 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 a jumper with 18 seconds remaining 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.
When asked about the close loss, San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said, "On their senior night, they got a 14-point lead and were physically dominating the game. We withstood it and fought our way back in. We had a big steal to tie the game and then we had a good switch. We had length on [Dedan] Thomas and he hit a step back two, a tough shot. A contested two to win the game. We had a good look on the sideline out of bounds and the guy guarding Jaedon [LeDee] came off the low guy to block that shot. The guy we were screening, we caught with an elevator. To their credit, they scrambled out with length, which they have and got a piece of Micah's [Parrish] shot. I like our grit. I like our determination, but I'm disappointed we didn't come away with a win."
SDSU was dominant on the offensive glass, matching a season-high by grabbing 20 offensive rebounds. The Aztecs spread the ball around, earning 14 assists on 18 made baskets. San Diego State also had ten steals defensively to UNLV's seven.
The Rebels shot better from the field (40.0%-28.1%) and from beyond the arc (44.4%-33.3%) while the Aztecs were better from the free throw line (73.3%-66.7%).
San Diego State wraps up its regular season with one last game at Viejas Arena on Friday night against Boise State. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT and will be televised on FS1 and San Diego Sports 760. The Aztecs will be honoring their seniors prior to tipoff and the game is a whiteout with fans attending the game encouraged to wear white.