Kansas State 95, No. 18 UNLV 80: Red-Hot Jacob Pullen Leads Wildcats To Big Win

For more on the Wildcats, visit SB Nation’s Kansas State blog, Bring on the Cats. For more on the Rebels and the rest of the Mountain West, head over to Mountain West Connection.

December 12 -Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Jacob Pullen went 7-of-10 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points while grabbing six rebounds, as the Kansas State Wildcats upended the 18th-ranked UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, 95-80, at Orleans Arena.

Denis Clemente added 22 points and nine assists for the Wildcats (9-1), who have won six in a row. Jamar Samuels chipped in 14 points and six rebounds while Curtis Kelly had 13 points for Kansas State, which shot 57.1 percent from the field.

Tre’Von Willis ended with 17 points for the Rebels (7-1), who suffered their first defeat of the season. Chace Stanback tallied 14 points while Oscar Bellfield added 13 points for UNLV, which shot 48.2 percent from the floor.

Dominique Sutton’s three-point play put the Wildcats ahead 49-38 just 2 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Ahead 54-45 moments later, Kansas State ripped off 13 consecutive points to essentially seal the victory. Kelly tallied five points during the stretch that Clemente capped with a three-pointer for a 67-45 lead with about 14 minutes to play.

The Rebels slowly chipped away their deficit and trailed 90-78 after Willis made a layup and three-pointer with over 1 1/2 minutes left.

KSU made 5-of-6 foul shots down the stretch to seal the victory.

A pair of Samuels foul shots had Kansas State in front 28-23 with 7:15 to play in the first half. UNLV responded with five straight points to deadlock the tilt at 28 with 4:42 left.

Ahead 36-34, the Wildcats scored the final six points of the first period. Pullen made a layup right before the half to give KSU a 42-34 lead heading into the locker room.

Pullen’s seven three-pointers was a career high...The Rebels lead the all-time series with Kansas State, 3-2...The game was played at Orleans Arena because the Thomas & Mack Center was hosting the National Finals Rodeo. This was the third time UNLV has played basketball at Orleans Arena.