Bryan Cole / The Collegian

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS 76, UNLV RUNNIN̢۪ REBELS 82

It was two teams that once played in the same conference and two brothers who played together in high school, but being reunited didn̢۪t necessarily feel so good for the Bulldogs Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.

Despite improving in rebounding and three-point shooting from its previous contest against Oregon State, Fresno State couldn̢۪t overpower former Western Athletic Conference (WAC) foe UNLV, led by Dwight O̢۪Neil̢۪s younger brother Tre̢۪Von Willis, who managed to pull away toward the end with an 82-76 victory.

The young Bulldogs drop to 2-4 on the season. The more experienced Runnin̢۪ Rebels, with six seniors on their active roster, improve to 6-2.

“We were prepared to win this game and do certain things,â€Â coach Steve Cleveland said. “The competitiveness and effort level were great. Obviously, there were times when our execution wasn’t great.â€Â

Fresno State was outrebounded by Oregon State this past Sunday 34-26. But the Bulldogs changed that by collecting 38 rebounds on the night compared to the Rebels̢۪ 31 boards.

Cleveland believes it was a change in mindset that led to the improvement in rebounding. “We had an aggressive mindset,â€Â Cleveland said. “I thought we did some great things defensively, we also had some breakdowns. But I’m proud of the effort.â€Â

The victory for the Runnin̢۪ Rebels now improves their overall record against Fresno State to 27-6.

“Vegas is a very difficult team to guard,â€Â Cleveland said. “They have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things, but I think we proved tonight that we can hit big baskets, we can execute offensively and I liked the way we shared the ball and I liked the aggression level we had.â€Â

The Bulldogs had some crucial three point shots made by Paul George as he finished 3-of-6 from behind the arc and scored 24 points, an improvement over his six points against Oregon State.

“My teammates set me up so I got an open shot,â€Â George said. “I was more comfortable. I let the game flow.â€Â

But George believes that both the Oregon State game and Wednesday night̢۪s contest were games the Bulldogs had in their grasp.

Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian

“Those are two games that we should’ve won,â€Â George said. “We’re all here to get better. That’s our main goal. We’re still young, but with the players we have we all stick together.â€Â

Willis helped UNLV overcome a 65-64 deficit to outscore the Bulldogs 18-11 with about six minutes left in the second half.

He finished with 18 points and spoke of his return to Fresno.

“Tonight was greatâ€Â Willis said. “I’ve always wanted to play at the Save Mart Center in front of my hometown, my friends and my family. It felt great and the ‘W’ definitely made it feel that much better.â€Â

There was a time when the former Washington Union High standout had thoughts about joining his older brother at Fresno State.

“There was a slight chance that I would come here,â€Â Willis said. “You can say that’s my second favorite team. Plus, my brother plays for them. But UNLV prevailed tonight.â€Â

There were even some verbal jabs being exchanged between Willis and his older sibling.

“There was a little trash talk before the game,â€Â Willis said. “Now I’m going to put a few more choice words in his ear. Little brother prevailed. I can’t say what I was telling him. But it was fun and I would want to do that again.â€Â

In the end, Willis still admires his older brother and the team O̢۪Neil plays for.

“That’s my brother, I love him,â€Â Willis said. “Hopefully he can turn around this program and get it back to what it was, and they’ll always be my second favorite team.â€Â

O̢۪Neil, however, felt that trying to win was more important than playing against his younger brother.

“I wanted this game because I felt we needed this as a team, not because of my brother,â€Â O’Neil said. “We felt that we had to protect our home court. I played a good game, he played a good game. His team came out on top.â€Â