There would be no such road victory repeat for UNLV on Tuesday night.
Boise State (12-4, 4-1) led wire-to-wire and bounced back from Saturday's home loss to San Diego State, defeating the Rebels 81-59.
In winning the ninth time in their last 10 meetings with UNLV (9-6, 3-1), four Boise State players scored in double figures. Tyson Degenhart, who struggled against the Aztecs, had a game-high 21 points. Boise State got back to feeding Degenhart inside, resulting in an 8 of 11 night from the field for the senior, who also finished with 11 rebounds.
Alvaro Cardenas finished with 13 points and nine assists (with zero turnovers). O'Mar Stanley and Javan Buchanan each added 12 points off the bench.
Tuesday was a much better shooting night for the Broncos, connecting on a clip of 49.2 percent. Boise State also got back to rebounding basics, resulting in a 38-21 advantage (and holding UNLV to three offensive rebounds while collecting 13 of their own).
Jailen Bedford led UNLV with 11 points and the Broncos held star point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. to 10 points and four assists.
First half action
From UNLV's first possession, where the Broncos forced a shot clock violation, Boise State appeared ready to bring the energy to this game.
Andrew Meadow's three-pointer just over two minutes into the game gave Boise State a 3-0 lead they never relinquished. Thanks to a six of nine start from the field, the Broncos built an early seven-point lead at 17-10.
UNLV managed to peel off a quick 6-0 run over the next few minutes, closing the gap to one. This was as close as the Rebels would be the remainder of the game.
Boise State responded with a 10-0 run of their own, fueled by the first appearance of the season by freshman Pearson Carmichael. Carmichael brought energy to both ends of the floor and connected on a three-pointer during this run.
Degenhart and Stanley took over after that stretch, with a Degenhart putback growing the Bronco lead to 12. The margin swelled to 19 when Cardenas delivered a bucket at the buzzer to give Boise State a 43-24 halftime lead.
The Broncos shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and had nine assists against only three turnovers.
Second half: Rout is on
Boise State came out of the locker room with the same fire, poise, and focus, with Degenhart hitting a three-pointer almost immediately out of the gate.
The lead continued to grow thanks to an efficient, fluid Boise State offense that tried to get everyone involved. An early shot by Dylan Anderson stretched the lead to 24. The lead reached its apex when, after a Rebel turnover, Carmichael took the ball the length of the floor to put Boise State up 63-34 with 11:35 left in the game.
UNLV managed to put together a couple of runs, putting a dent in the lead and getting as close as 15 points. But Boise State managed to put stops together, hit their free throws, and found offense again to close out this victory in style.
Boise State finished with 11 turnovers to 14 for UNLV. One downside for the Broncos continues to be three-point shooting. After starting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, Boise State only finished 8 of 30.
Carmichael was impressive in his debut, playing for 18 minutes and finishing with eight points and three rebounds. Anderson added seven points to go along with three assists.
Next up for the Broncos is a road trip to Utah State on Saturday. The Aggies are 15-1 and 5-0 in conference play after defeating the San Jose State Spartans in San Jose on Tuesday night.
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