UNLV Runnin' Rebels Stumble On The Road Against The Colorado State Rams

The UNLV Rebels lost their second game in a row on Friday night to the Colorado State Rams.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels guard Issac Williamson (12) dribbles upcourt against the Stanford Cardinal in the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team suffered their second consecutive loss on Friday night on the road in Fort Collins against the Colorado State Rams. They lost by a final score of 70 - 62. UNLV had a 56 - 51 lead in this game with less than seven minutes remaining, but stumbled down the stretch, allowing the Rams to close the game out on a 16 - 4 run after making just one field goal in the game's final five minutes.

With this loss, the Rebels fall below .500 to 7 - 8 and 2 - 2 in the Mountain West Conference. Colorado State climbs to 11 - 5 overall and 2 - 3 in conference play. Despite the loss, the Rebels played much better in this game than in their previous loss to the Wyoming Cowboys earlier in the week. Head coach Josh Pastner spoke with the media about the tough loss following the game.

"I'm proud of our young men for the way they bounced back from Tuesday's game (98-66 loss at Wyoming), because our whole message over the last three days was how you are going to respond is going to show your character," Pastner said. "I thought we responded the right way. We had great fight and we had a chance to win the game. It's a fine line sometimes between winning and losing, and we fell a little short. Credit to Colorado State."

Issac Williamson was the best player in this game for UNLV. The freshman guard came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points in just 24 minutes. He shot 4 - 6 from the field, 2 - 4 from three-point range, and 4 - 6 from the free-throw line. Williamson also chipped in with three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

The star of the game for Colorado State was Brandon Rechsteiner. The junior guard led the team with 15 points and contributed with four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. He came up huge in this game for the Rams.

Next up for UNLV are the Boise State Broncos back in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. The Rebels will look to bounce back against the Broncos, who are currently 9 - 6 overall, but just 1 - 3 in Mountain West play after two consecutive losses.

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