All-America guard Fred VanVleet scored 17 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds to lead Wichita State to 56-50 nonconference victory over UNLV on Wednesday night in a Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge series matchup in Wichita, Kan.

It was the 34th straight nonconference home win for the Shockers (4-4), the second longest in the nation behind Duke (122). Ron Baker finished with 13 points, including a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds left to seal the win for Wichita State, which won despite shooting just 37.5 percent and making only 11-of-22 free throws.

Freshman center Stephen Zimmerman Jr. led UNLV (7-2) with 11 points and six rebounds. The Runnin' Rebels, who had a four-game winning streak snapped, came into the contest averaging 83.1 points but shot just 40 percent from the floor, including 4-of-17 from 3-point range, and committed 19 turnovers.

UNLV, which sank 10 3-pointers in an 80-69 upset of No. 15 Oregon on Friday night in the MGM Grand Showcase in Las Vegas, managed just eight points in the first 12 1/2 minutes against the Shockers, who built a 22-8 lead. VanVleet, seeing his first extensive action of the season due to a hamstring injury, had 14 points in the first half, repeatedly exploiting Rebel big men on screen and rolls and driving to the basket for easy layups or assists.

The Runnin' Rebels, who trailed 31-22 at halftime, closed to within 41-35 on a steal and layup by sophomore guard Patrick McCaw with 9:44 remaining. After Wichita State built the lead back up to 10 points on a pair of free throws by Zach Brown, UNLV closed to within two, 52-50, on a 3-pointer by senior guard Jerome Seagears with 22.6 seconds left. But guard Connor Frankamp, a transfer from Kansas making his Wichita State debut, sank a pair of pressure-packed free throws to put the Shockers back up by four, and Baker clinched the win a few seconds later after Seagears missed a 3-pointer.