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LAS VEGAS — Bryce Hamilton scored 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and UNLV handed defending champion Utah State its first Mountain West Conference loss, 70-53, on Wednesday night.
Amauri Hardy added 14 points and Cheikh Mbacke Diong had 10 for the Runnin' Rebels (7-8, 2-0), who won their third straight.
Justin Bean had his 10th double-double of the season, 17 points and 10 rebounds, for the Aggies (13-3, 2-1), who had won three straight and six of seven. Sam Merrill added 10 points.
Marvin Coleman's 3-pointer with just under eight minutes left gave UNLV a 22-12 lead. Utah State quickly cut that to 3 but 10 straight points helped the the Runnin' Rebels hold a 37-26 lead at the half.
UNLV broke it open with a 15-3 run to lead 62-39 with 5:28 to play. The winners shot 45% while Utah State was at 33%, going 2 of 19 from 3-point range, and getting outrebounded 41-29.
HAPPY NEW YEAR: UNLV’s defense shut down Utah State on Wednesday night and opened the new year by routing and upsetting the Aggies 70-53 → https://t.co/46lGxHtwrXpic.twitter.com/W35P1vno3G
— Las Vegas RJ (@reviewjournal) January 2, 2020
Correction: The final score of the game was erroneously reported as 70-63. It has been updated to 70-53.
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