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  Saturday, Feb. 5 10:35pm ET
Kambala: 20 points, 11 rebounds
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- It was more of the same for Utah away from home.

And for UNLV, that meant something the Runnin' Rebels couldn't muster all season: a victory against a ranked opponent.

Kaspars Kambala scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as UNLV defeated the No. 19 Utes 72-66 on Saturday.

The Rebels had lost to Top 25 opponents North Carolina, Oklahoma State, and Cincinnati before defeating the Utes.

"The effort was there, the focus was there," UNLV head coach Bill Bayno said. "Together as a team it was the best it's ever been."

Junior center Kambala scored his 1,000th career point midway through the second half. He'd been anticipating the match-up in the paint.

"I look forward to playing against good big men," Kambala said. "And they have some good big men on their team."

Mark Dickel scored 18 points for the Rebels (14-5, 5-2 Mountain West). Freshman Dalron Johnson had 17 points.

Alex Jensen led Utah (17-4, 6-1) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Hanno Mottola added 16 points and Tony Harvey scored 12.

"Unfortunately we didn't come out in the first half with the energy, effort and enthusiasm that was required," Utah head coach Rick Majerus said. "We dug ourselves a hole. We had guys worrying about their own offensive production and not realizing games turn on defensive and rebounding."

Though Utah outrebounded UNLV 36-32, key boards down the stretch went to the Rebels.

Utah battled back midway through the second half and tied it at 61 with 5:57 remaining.

The Rebels didn't get a basket the rest of the game, and made only 11-of-20 free throws in that span. Still, it was enough as the Utes could only muster Jensen's 3-pointer and a late field goal from Jeff Johnsen.

Utah turned the ball over three times and missed four shots in the final five minutes.

The Rebels led 39-31 at halftime. Johnson had 13 points, including nine in a 13-point run midway through the first half.

"They're one of the best defenses in the country, and we executed on offense. We understood what we needed to do," Bayno said.
 


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