A storm may be coming to San Diego but it hit the Aztecs early.

UNLV rained three-pointers down on San Diego State (20-8, 13-6 Mountain West) Tuesday, to sweep the season series between the two teams for the first time in more than a decade with a 74-67 win at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Julian Rishwain scored a career-high 26 points, 18 of them on threes, for the Runnin’ Rebels (17-13, 11-8 MW). Overall, UNLV went 12-for-24 from beyond the arc – they average six threes a game – while San Diego State scuffled at just 7-for-29.

UNLV, again without injured guard D.J. Thomas, nonetheless played with a “competitive edge,” said SDSU Assistant Coach Ryan Badrtalei.

“We weren’t able to match it nor surpass it,” he told San Diego Sports 760.

SDSU, up by as many as six points in the opening half, couldn’t shake UNLV, largely due to those three-pointers.

Early on, Rishwain, off a turnover by Miles Heide, briefly gave UNLV a 28-25 lead with a three at under three minutes to go before the break.

The Aztecs snatched the lead back on jumpers by BJ Davis and Nick Boyd, but UNLV would twice tie it up before Boyd landed a shot with six seconds left, giving SDSU a slim 34-32 lead.

But UNLV also had six turnovers and SDSU took advantage, for eight points. Boyd led with 10 points at the half, while Miles Byrd had seven.

Heide opened up the scoring for San Diego State in the second half with a layup, but UNLV answered with another three, this time by Jordan Henley, and quickly went ahead on still another by Rishwain.

Jared Coleman-Jones offered up one of his own, to tie the game at 39, but UNLV soon had a bit of a cushion, at 46-42, thanks to Rishwain’s fifth three-pointer of the game and a fast break topped by a dunk by Jeremiah Cherry.

Byrd, though, energized his team with a big jam. Wayne McKinney III missed from long distance and Byrd swooped in to slam it home, cutting UNLV’s lead to one.

He put them ahead too, at 48-46, this time with a three, off an assist from Coleman-Jones.

UNLV wasn’t done though, and tied it up again. Taj Degourville put San Diego State ahead on two free throws, but with 11:29 left in the game, that would be SDSU’s final lead.

After UNLV built a 57-52 advantage, Boyd, off a steal by Byrd, answered with a stepback three to pull the Aztecs to within two. Yet Cherry slammed home a dunk to give UNLV another four-point lead.

It jumped to seven off a jumper by Rishwain, prompting a timeout by SDSU with 4:43 to play.

The Aztecs re-grouped, and a minute later, after a free throw and a miss by Byrd, Davis hit two more from the line and Byrd stole the ball from Hill to feed Boyd for a layup that cut UNLV’s lead to 63-61.

That’s the closest they would get. UNLV ultimately outscored them 26-17 in the final 11 minutes of the game.

Another factor, according to Badrtalei? The team let its “lack of offensive success dictate our defensive level.” Rishwain, for instance, averages just eight points a game.

“That can’t happen,” Badrtalei said.

Boyd finished with 19 points, while Byrd had 15. Davis and Heide added 10 each in the Aztecs’ second loss to UNLV this year – they also fell to the Runnin’ Rebels 76-68 Jan. 18 at Viejas Arena.

SDSU returns home for its final regular season game of the year at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, hosting Nevada (16-14, 8-11 MW), with conference tournament to follow next week.