‘He saved us once again’: UNLV freshman’s clutch shot sinks Aztecs — PHOTOS

On UNLV’s senior night, the Rebels’ freshman point guard came up with the biggest basket.

UNLV dominated the first half Tuesday against No. 21 San Diego State. But, as expected, the Aztecs battled back and erased a double-digit lead the Rebels held most of the night.

With the game tied at 58 with less than 20 seconds left, freshman Dedan Thomas Jr. knocked down a stepback jumper to put the Rebels back ahead.

Kalib Boone blocked a 3-pointer on San Diego State’s ensuing possession, Thomas made two free throws with six seconds left, and UNLV escaped with a 62-58 win over the Aztecs at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Rebels’ 10th victory in 11 games.

“We just really wanted this game because they got us early in the year (a 72-61 road loss Jan. 6),” Thomas said. “It’s crazy, I would be at the games 10, 11 years old watching these games and big-time games,” Thomas said. “Seeing all the games over the years and to be in this moment and this position, it’s crazy.”

Thomas finished with 19 points to lead the Rebels (19-10, 12-5 Mountain West), and fifth-year forward Keylan Boone added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

“Our point guard rocked out, he saved us once again,” Boone said. “He’s resilient. He found a way. We didn’t have the mistakes in the past with other games.”

It’s UNLV’s first win over San Diego State (22-8, 11-6) since the Rebels upset the then-undefeated Aztecs 66-63 on Feb. 22, 2020.

“It’s certainly the most physical team we’ve played all year, and those teams can be hard to prepare for,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “It doesn’t come to the plays, it comes down to being tough, being ready and doing the winning plays that you have to make and the guys did a good job of that tonight.”

After UNR’s 76-66 win over Boise State late Tuesday, UNLV sits in a three-way tie for second in the Mountain West with the Wolf Pack and Broncos, a half-game behind Utah State (24-5, 12-4).

“They continued to work. They went and won in some tough venues,” Kruger said. “They had some great wins here at home and they’re playing for each other. That’s why I think they’re having as much as they are and having a good run there. There’s a lot of things to be proud of tonight.”

UNLV concludes the regular season at UNR at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re playing for something,” Kruger said. “We’re going to our archrival on their senior night, still with a lot to play for, and the guys know that. They earned it, so they should be proud of that.”

The Rebels had a chance to seal the game earlier, but Lamont Butler stole a Thomas pass intended for Rob Whaley Jr. and scored on a layup to tie the game at 58. But Thomas hit his shot, and the Rebels never gave up the lead.

“They wanted me to get a switch, I got switched,” Thomas said. “I made my move, and they had confidence in me to hit the shot and I hit it.”

San Diego State never led and tied the game just once, on Butler’s layup with 44 seconds left. The Aztecs shot 18-of-64 (28.1 percent) for the game.

UNLV led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but couldn’t find its rhythm to start the second half. The Rebels went scoreless the first 3:39, but San Diego State was unable to take the lead and trailed 33-30.

Thomas converted on a layup for UNLV’s first points of the half, and the Rebels went on a 7-0 run in less than two minutes and went back ahead by double digits, 40-30, with 14:33 left.

San Diego State answered with three 3-pointers during an 11-2 run to trail UNLV 42-41 with 12 minutes left. UNLV pushed the lead back to 51-44 with six minutes left with 3-pointers from Keylan Boone and Luis Rodriguez.

The Aztecs made it a one-possession game after a Micah Parrish 3-pointer and Jaedon LeDee’s two free throws with under five minutes left. But Thomas scored five points to give the Rebels some breathing room.

“The progress he’s made — he’s never too high, never too low,” Kruger said. “He played great. He’s got the same demeanor and same approach and that’s something that makes him great right now at his game. It’s very tough to find an 18-year-old at that level.”

UNLV couldn’t have asked for a better start. San Diego State missed its first 13 shots. Reese Waters made a 3-pointer eight minutes into the game for the Aztecs’ first field goal, but they were already behind by double digits.

The Rebels matched San Diego State’s physicality early and were active on defense to build an 18-5 lead with 10:55 left.

Kalib Boone and Karl Jones helped the Rebels attack the basket offensively and control an early interior presence.

Kalib Boone started a 9-0 run with a dunk on a three-point play, and Keylan Boone knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to put UNLV ahead 27-10 with 8:16 left.

San Diego State slowly started to chip away at the deficit. The Aztecs went on a 13-1 run to cut UNLV’s lead to 30-25 with 4:10 left before halftime.

The Rebels went cold, going nearly eight minutes without a field goal, and made 4 of 8 free throws. After the Aztecs made it a one-possession game, Whaley made a tough layup with 46 seconds left, and the Rebels took a 33-28 halftime lead.

Despite making just two of its first 22 shots and shooting 22.9 percent in the first half (8-of-25), San Diego State outscored UNLV 18-6 in the final 7:32 before halftime.

The Aztecs made the most of nine first-half UNLV turnovers to score 12 points and had a plus-five offensive rebounding advantage after the first 20 minutes.

“The guys knew it was going to be a 40-minute fight and knew we were going to have to play well for 40 minutes,” Kruger said. “The difference in the game ended up being able to get that good start, which we really haven’t been able to do against them.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.