Rebels’ victory settled by Dejean-Jones, Birch

One shot turned a miserable night for Bryce Dejean-Jones into a memorable one.

After misfiring repeatedly for 40-plus minutes in one of his worst shooting exhibitions of the season, Dejean-Jones hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining in overtime as UNLV escaped with a 75-73 victory over Fresno State on Saturday night at the Thomas &Mack Center.

Junior forward Khem Birch came up just as big for the Rebels, and arguably bigger. Birch totaled 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, including one to save the game.

With 10 seconds to play, Bulldogs point guard Cezar Guerrero blew by Deville Smith for a layup to tie, but his clear path to the rim was blocked by Birch, who swatted the shot.

“Luckily, I was there in the right spot,” Birch said. “I timed it perfectly and got the block.”

Dejean-Jones was fouled and made a free throw with 7.5 seconds left.

UNLV led 74-72 after Smith hit the second of two free throws with 28.8 seconds to go.

Smith scored 17 points and Kevin Olekaibe had 15 for the Rebels (13-7, 4-3 Mountain West). Dejean-Jones and Roscoe Smith each finished with 10 points.

Dejean-Jones emerged as a hero, but the junior guard took several ill-advised shots and went 3-for-12 from the field and 3-for-8 on free throws. He also had seven assists and no turnovers.

“Obviously, Bryce would be the first one to say he took a couple of tough shots down the stretch,” coach Dave Rice said. “But we had the confidence to throw it to him, and he made a huge 3.”

Guerrero had 18 points on 6-for-20 shooting for Fresno State, which connected on 11 of 28 3-pointers.

The Rebels entered the game ranked first in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, but they didn’t stick to perimeter shooters or stop the Bulldogs’ guards from penetrating the lane.

Paul Watson made four 3s and finished with 17 points for Fresno State (8-13, 1-7). Tyler Johnson added 14 points, and Alex Davis had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“We were No. 1 in 3-point field-goal defense coming into the game, and I suspect we won’t be after the game,” Rice said. “We were having a tough time getting them stopped.”

UNLV hit just 6 of 22 3s, with Olekaibe (3 of 9) and Smith (2 of 7) firing away most frequently.

The Rebels, who trailed 37-31 at the half, never led until Birch’s dunk with 8:30 to go made the score 59-57.

Fresno State had two shots to win at the end of regulation. Guerrero’s step-back 3 over Birch from the corner rimmed out, and Alex Davis’ tip attempt was short at the buzzer.

Birch and Roscoe Smith each made two free throws to put the Rebels up four two minutes into overtime. But the Bulldogs took a 72-70 lead on Johnson’s jumper in the lane with 1:14 remaining.

Fresno State made 7 of 16 3-pointers in the first half, with Guerrero hitting three. UNLV was sliced apart on the defensive end and outrebounded 22-15.

The Bulldogs jumped on top 11-2 on Johnson’s 3 two minutes into the game. The Rebels spent the rest of the half in chase mode.

Watson opened the second half with a 3. On two possessions early in the half, the Rebels got lost on switches and left a shooter wide-open in the corner. Both times, Guerrero drained a 3-pointer.

But Deville Smith hit a 3 and scored on an acrobatic breakaway layup, and UNLV rallied to tie the score at 49 with 14:31 remaining. Twice the Rebels had a shot to take their first lead, but twice Dejean-Jones missed a free throw on the front end of a one-and-one.

Watson hit a 3 from the corner, Johnson made two free throws, and Fresno State went back in front 56-53. The Bulldogs finally slowed down, allowing UNLV to surge ahead 59-57 on Birch’s dunk with 8:30 to go

The Rebels swept teams’ second meeting this month, also beating the Bulldogs 75-62 in the conference opener Jan. 1.

“Fresno State plays harder than any team in our league,” Rice said. “It’s a terrific win for our team.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.