Gay, Leonard help No. 6 San Diego St get past UNLV
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}D.J. Gay scored 20 points and Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 6 San Diego State to a 63-57 victory over UNLV on Saturday.
San Diego State (25-1, 10-1 Mountain West Conference) trailed for only the second time in the game when Tre'Von Willis drove in for a layup with 3:07 left to give the Rebels (18-7, 6-5) a 55-54 lead. But the Aztecs made nine of 10 free throw attempts in the final 2:12 to seal their fifth consecutive win.
UNLV went 1 for 15 from 3-point range and missed all 10 tries after halftime, including an 0-for-6 mark after Willis gave the Rebels their lone lead of the second half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Willis led UNLV with 13 points. Oscar Bellfield scored 12 and Brice Massamba had 11 points (on 5-for-5 shooting) and six rebounds.
James Rahon added 12 points for the Aztecs.
Willis' go-ahead basket capped a 16-5 UNLV run that included eight points by Willis and four consecutive points from Massamba.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brian Carlwell's two free throws with 1:35 left gave the Aztecs a 57-55 lead. Bellfield tied it when he made two free throws with 1:22 to go, but the Rebels never scored again.
Gay converted two foul shots for a 59-57 edge with 1:03 to play. Malcolm Thomas, fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound, made two free throws that upped the lead to 61-57 with 51 seconds left. Rahon made two more free throws with a second left.
Earlier, when UNLV had narrowed the Aztecs' lead to five and then six points in the second half, Gay answered with long jumpers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And when the Rebels trimmed the SDSU advantage to 43-37, Leonard responded with an offensive rebound and putback.
The Aztecs, who led 34-27 at halftime, trailed only once (2-0) during the first half. They led by as many as 12 points twice during the first 20 minutes, following Leonard's 3-pointer and Gay's long jumper a short time later that gave the Aztecs a 27-15 lead with 7:07 left.
Leonard led the Aztecs with 10 points and six rebounds and Gay added nine points on 4-for-6 shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SDSU shot 54 percent in the first half and 43 percent (20 for 47) for the game.