GAME NOTES: The San Diego State Aztecs make their first trip to Sin City for the month of March on Wednesday night, as they tangle with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in Mountain West Conference action.

The Aztecs, who will be back at the Thomas & Mack Center next week for the start of the MWC Tournament, were nationally-ranked this time last week, but then felt the sting of Boise State in a 56-46 home loss. The setback not only halted a four-game win streak, but it also snapped a 29-game home win streak for SDSU.

With a conference mark of 12-4, the Aztecs are now tied with the Broncos for first place in the league standings, with this game and a meeting against Nevada at Viejas Arena this weekend still remaining. San Diego State, which has already won the MWC's regular-season title four times, is also aiming to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time in 75 outings.

As for the Runnin' Rebels, their 7-9 conference mark has them sitting all alone in seven place in the standings. The squad has won two of the last three outings, thanks to a 69-57 victory over Wyoming at home on Saturday. The squad will have another chance to pick up a regular-season win when it travels to San Jose State this coming weekend to battle a Spartans team that has yet to beat a Division I opponent in 2014-15.

UNLV leads the all-time series between the squads by a count of 35-25, but the Aztecs have won four straight over the Rebels, which includes a 53-47 triumph in San Diego back in January.

San Diego State knew it was in trouble when it scored just seven points in the final 11 minutes against the Broncos, en route to not only having a lengthy home winning streak snapped but also losing sole possession of first place in the MWC. Winston Shepard ended up as the lone double-digit scorer for the Aztecs as he dropped in 16 points, shooting 7-of-17 from the floor, while JJ O'Brien added eight points on 4-of-8 from the field, the pair being the only players to make more than just two field goals for the hosts as they connected on 32.7 percent from the floor.

Aqeel Quinn, who tallied seven points on just 2-of-9 from the field before fouling out against Boise State, is still the leading scorer for SDSU in games against the rest of the league. One of four players to have started every MWC outing for the Aztecs, Quinn is responsible for 12.3 ppg, followed by Shepard and O'Brien with 11.3 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, for a unit that is getting by with just 61.4 ppg. Luckily, the swarming defense for SDSU is holding opponents to just 53.0 ppg on 38.8 percent shooting from the field.

With only a handful of players from whom to draw from, the Rebels should have been struggling against Wyoming on Saturday after the Cowboys got their star player back in the lineup, but UNLV somehow pulled off the win, but double digits no less. Patrick McCaw produced 21 points as he converted 5-of-7 shots from 3-point range, marking the third time in the last five games that he has put up at least 20 points. Cody Doolin and Christian Wood both added 10 points, the latter also pulling down 13 defensive rebounds.

Unfortunately for the Runnin' Rebels, they are trying to push through to the end of the regular season without Rashad Vaughn, their leading scorer (18.3 ppg) who has been lost to injury until further notice. Taking Vaughn out of the equation means there is even more pressure on Wood to be a bigger factor in the paint. Wood is close to averaging a double-double against the rest of the league with 15.9 ppg and 9.9 rpg, but for some reason he continues to test the waters behind the 3-point line where he is just 31.3 percent accurate. McCaw is now up to 12.3 ppg and is first with 56 assists as he tries to fill some of the void as well.

Needing to finish strong in order to claim another conference title, the Aztecs will be dialing up the defense in this meeting as they get a feel for the land in Las Vegas before the postseason begins.