Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UNLV
Bulldogs Unlucky In Vegas, Fall To Rebels, 84-71
12/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2007
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Despite being down by 27 points in the second half, Fresno State finished strong with 46 second half points in an 84-71 loss at defending Mountain West Conference Champion UNLV on Saturday night.
Fresno State was led in scoring by senior point guard Kevin Bell, who tossed in 17 points and added six assists. The highlight of the night was the performance of center Shawn Taylor, who finished with a career-high 12 rebounds.
After the Bulldogs scored the game's first two points, the Rebels scored the next 10. UNLV never trailed again, eventually opening a 23-5 lead, which never got below 13 points the rest of the way.
Hector Hernandez had 16 points, while Eddie Miller added 15 for the Dogs, who fell to 5-4 on the season. The game was played at the Orleans Arena because the Rebels' home court at the Thomas & Mack Arena is hosting the National Rodeo Finals.
The Rebels were 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. They were also out-rebounded 41-36.
UNLV led 52-25 at halftime. In the half, the Rebels were 20-of-38 (54 percent) from the field, while the Bulldogs were 9-of-30 (30 percent).
Head Coach Steve Cleveland
"We obviously didn't play well, but the thing I liked about the game is that we never quit. We are a little short-handed right now but we learned from tonight's game. I though Shawn Taylor played the best game of his career as Bulldog. We will learn from this and move on. We had a chance to cut it to 10 points at the end of the game and our guys really played hard in the second half. I'm certainly not pleased that we didn't win the game. We are never satisfied when we lose, but we learned from this game. UNLV is a good basketball team. They went to the `Sweet 16' last season."
Notes
- Shawn Taylor set a career-high with 12 rebounds, second-most by a Bulldog this season.
- The Dogs had more rebounds than the Rebels 41-37.
- Fresno State outscored UNLV 46-32 in the second half of tonight's game.
- The Dogs 46 second-half points, the second highest total of the season.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - Fresno State hits the road to take on nationally-ranked Arizona on Sunday, Dec. 16, at Noon PT. The game will be broadcast by Fox Sports Net and available on the Bulldog Sports Network (KFRE WB 59).
