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No. 21 UNLV sneaks past UTEP

Dec 18, 2012 - 6:06 AM El Paso, TX (Sports Network) - Bryce Dejean-Jones had 12 points and the 21st- ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels snuck past the Texas-El Paso Miners, 62-60, on Monday.

Anthony Marshall added 11 points for the Runnin' Rebels (9-1), who have won seven in a row. Katin Reinhardt and Anthony Bennett each tallied 10 points.

Julian Washburn ended with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Miners (3-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Konner Tucker donated 12 points in his first game of the season after suffering a broken hand in the preseason.

Trailing by six, 62-56, with 2:07 to play, UTEP had one last run in them. Jacques Streeter made a pair of layups around Marshall's missed jumper, making it a two-point contest with 34 seconds left.

It remained a one-possession game after Dejean-Jones missed two free throws for UNLV.

Tucker's shot from beyond the arc was off the mark as time expired.

"It came down to the last shot," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "We have to do a much better job of keeping our composure when we are challenged on the road. We were challenged today and there are lessons to be learned and yet not to lose the game to a good team is a credit to our guys."

Holding a 17-13 edge with 9:06 remaining in the first half, the Runnin' Rebels put together a 7-0 flurry to create some distance. Marshall's 3-pointer made it a 24-13 game with 5:13 to go.

Reinhardt made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds remaining to make it 31-22 at the half.

"I felt like the game was lost in the first half," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "We just played really foolish offensively. We turned the ball over."

The Runnin' Rebels extended their lead to 15, 38-23, on Bennett's 3-pointer with 17:25 to play.

UTEP responded with a 9-2 spurt to prevent UNLV from running away with the game. John Bohannon's free throw cut the gap to 40-32 with 13:22 left.

Trailing by nine, 57-48, with 5:33 to go, the Miners went on an 8-3 flurry to make things interesting. Washburn's three-point play cut the gap to 60-56 with 2:46 to play.

Quintrell Thomas stopped to the spurt with a layup, giving UNLV a six-point lead with 2:07 left.

Game Notes

UNLV leads the all-time series by a 10-3 margin ... Tucker scored 12.0 points per game with San Houston State last season.