GAME NOTES: Silver State bragging rights are on the line Tuesday as the Nevada Wolf Pack welcomes the UNLV Runnin' Rebels to the Lawlor Events Center for a Mountain West Conference showdown.

The Pack has the second-fewest overall wins of any team in the league, yet is eighth in the standings with a 2-4 mark versus the rest of the MWC coming into the week. To say Nevada has been streaky would be an understatement, seeing as how the squad went from winning four games in a row, following a lengthy eight-game slide, to dropping four consecutive decisions.

Over the weekend, Nevada locked up with a former Western Athletic Conference foe in Fresno State and bowed by four, 66-62, at the Save Mart Center.

Meanwhile, the Runnin' Rebels are finding it difficult to put together solid efforts from one game to the next. The team last won consecutive games a month ago with wins over third-ranked Arizona and Southern Utah, but has another chance to make it happen after topping Utah State in overtime on Saturday, 79-77, in front of a favorable home crowd in Sin City.

The win for the Rebels snapped a three-game skid but was still just the second victory in eight tries for a group that is 2-5 in conference and a spot behind Nevada in the standings.

The Rebels are ahead in the all-time series by a 56-22 margin, although Nevada won the first meeting of the season back on Jan. 7 by a score of 64-62 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Cody Doolin knocked down a pair of free throws in the waning moments in order to give the Runnin' Rebels the 2-point overtime victory against Utah State on Saturday night. Doolin made just one of his five field goal tries and finished with five points, but managed to contribute with five assists and four rebounds for the Runnin' Rebels, while Rashad Vaughn scored a career-high 31 points, adding nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Christian Wood and Jordan Cornish both tallied 11 points for the Rebels in the win.

Vaughn is now averaging 17.9 ppg, one of the highest marks in the MWC, while Wood checks in with another 14.2 ppg. A 51.0 percent shooter from the field overall, Wood insists on trying to become a legitimate perimeter threat, but his 27.8 percent accuracy on the outside says otherwise. One of the better interior performers in the league, Wood leads his team in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and blocked shots (55), but also gets a hand in the latter category from Goodluck Okonoboh who has 51 rejections for one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country.

In a game that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, the Wolf Pack came up short against Fresno State on the road when they shot only 28.6 percent from the field in the second half, including 3-of-12 behind the 3-point line, not to mention a mere 10-of-17 at the charity stripe in the period as well. Eric Cooper Jr. responded with a game-high 20 points, followed by Tyron Criswell with 19 and seven rebounds,. AJ West logged a double-double with 12 points and a game-best 15 boards as the team beat the Bulldogs on the glass, 47-33.

The Nevada offense has been slumping against the rest of the MWC, producing only 61.3 ppg, but the bigger concern has to be a defense that is giving up 71.2 ppg, a full 5.0 ppg more than the unit is permitting on the season overall. West is trying to keep it together by averaging a double-double in those league bouts, posting 14.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per contest. Marqueze Coleman, who came off the bench the last time out, accounts for another 11.0 ppg, but this is a team that is shooting only 36.9 percent from the field and a dismal 22.2 percent on the outside.

After an exciting overtime affair the Rebels might have a tough time catching their breath. However, with this being a huge rivalry game the visitors should be more than prepared to go on the attack in Reno and bring back a victory.