Blog: Wood notches 14th double-double in UNLV’s 12-point victory

By Taylor Bern

Published Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015 | 6 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015 | 9:13 p.m.

UNLV 73, Fresno State 61

Game over

Christian Wood piled up 27 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks for his 14th double-double of the season, leading the Rebels to an ugly but effective 73-61 victory against Fresno State tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Both teams started the game shooting horribly, and while that aspect got better for stretches the refs never allowed much actual basketball to be played. There were 37 combined fouls and 57 combined free throw attempts.

Rashad Vaughn picked up where he left off from Colorado State with 13 first-half points, finishing with 18 on 5-of-11 shooting plus some of his better defense this season.

Fresno State shot 37 percent for the game while UNLV finished at 39.3. Goodluck Okonoboh didn't score but his four blocks combined with Wood to give the Rebels 11 in the game.

UNLV returns to the road Saturday at Air Force. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

Viewed in a vacuum, UNLV had a decent weekend trip to Colorado State. The Rebels came out hot, and then after giving away a big lead they battled back and went down to the wire, getting an open look at the potential game winner in a place where the home team has only lost once this season.

But the Rebels’ 2014-15 season doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The latest loss snapped a three-game winning streak that came against the teams as far down the standings as UNLV, with the Rebels still not owning a victory against any of the teams currently in the Mountain West’s top six.

UNLV (13-10, 4-6) gets another chance to pick up one of those wins tonight at 7 p.m. against Fresno State (11-12, 6-4), which is under-.500 for the season but qualifies as top half of the standings in this mediocre league. The game will stream on ESPN3.

Fresno State often gives UNLV trouble and that could be the case again tonight. It shouldn’t be, as the Rebels’ roster is head and shoulders better than the Bulldogs’, but that’s the way things have generally played out for the Rebels.

Two games, victories against San Jose State and Air Force, have been decided by double digits. Every other league game has come down to the final possessions of regulation or overtime. A couple of times that’s gone UNLV’s way, but more often it’s the opponent making the game-winning plays.

That’s how UNLV finds itself almost midway through February uncertain of what to expect on any given night. A performance like what the Rebels put forth in Fort Collins will generally result in a victory, says the optimist. They were up by 18 and found a way to lose like they’ve done much of the conference season, says the pessimist.

Any shot at an at-large selection long gone, UNLV will try to keep that optimistic view going into its final eight games. There’s just enough time to get on a roll and go into the Mountain West tournament with some confidence and momentum, and there’s also not enough time to really overcome another unforeseen setback or two.

One thing’s for sure, there’s no way to positively spin a loss tonight. So against a program that’s gone 2-2 against UNLV coach Dave Rice with one of those losses coming in overtime, the Rebels need to learn from their mistakes by replicating Saturday’s first 12 minutes without giving all the points back.

Bern’s prediction: UNLV 66, Fresno State 61

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.