The teams battled through the first 16 minutes of the game, with UNLV going on an 8-0 run over 1:23 to built its biggest lead of the game at 33-25 with 3:41 to go in the opening period. However as they have been resilient through this stretch, the Rams answered, closing out the half on a 16-3 surge, including a highly-contested triple from freshman Isaiah Stevens as the half expired to send CSU to the halftime break with a 41-36 advantage.