UNLV stuns No. 4 San Diego State, hands Aztecs first loss of the season

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
Updated ·3 min read
San Diego State forward Matt Mitchell (11) covers his face after missing a final basket in the Aztecs' loss to UNLV on Saturday, their first of the year
San Diego State forward Matt Mitchell (11) covers his face after missing a final basket in the Aztecs' loss to UNLV on Saturday, their first of the year. (AP/Denis Poroy)

San Diego State’s historic run is over.

The Aztecs, the last remaining undefeated team in college basketball, fell to UNLV 66-63 on Saturday at Viejas Arena in San Diego, marking their first loss of the year.

“I’m thrilled for our guys,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They really locked in in practice this week. We’ve gotten better as the season moved on. The moment wasn’t too big for us, they shared the basketball, played together and really got some stops that we needed there late.”

The two teams bounced back and forth through the first several minutes of the contest. Then, midway through the first half, the Rebels fired off a huge 12-2 run to take full control of the game.

UNLV cruised from there, using a 12-point lead at halftime to maintain a double-digit advantage into the final minutes. While SDSU made a late push, and cut the game to just one point after a huge Malachi Flynn 3-pointer with only 17 seconds left, it wasn’t enough.

The Rebels held on to pick up the three-point win, their fourth in five games.

Flynn led SDSU with 24 points and nine rebounds. Matt Mitchell finished with 13 points, and Jordan Schakel added 10 points and nine rebounds.

“We tasted defeat for the first time, and it doesn’t taste very good,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said. “Anybody that was saying they thought a loss would be good for the Aztecs, we don’t feel that way at all. We’re vastly disappointed. We wanted a perfect season, but it didn’t happen. And that’s college basketball, and I’m smart enough to know that, that every game you play is going to be a challenge, and UNLV did a good job.”

Elijah Mitrou-Long led the Rebels with 19 points off the bench, and hit four clutch free throws in the final minute to seal the deal. Amauri Hardy added 17 points, and Bryce Hamilton finished with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The win marked their first against SDSU in San Diego in seven years, and the Aztecs were the highest-ranked opponent they’ve beaten on the road since 1991.

“It’s a testament to the work our guys do every day,” Otzelberger said. “We’re going to work hard, we’re going to come at each day with a lunch pail and a hard hat and see what we can do. Today, that paid off for us.”

More from Yahoo Sports: