Coach Dan Mullen and the new-look UNLV football team survived their first major test of the season, beating Big Ten foe UCLA 30-23 on Saturday night in Las Vegas in the Rebels’ lone regular-season matchup against a Power 4 opponent this year.Defensive back Aamaris Brown intercepted a deflected pass from UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava with 52 seconds remaining, ending the Bruins’ comeback bid while sealing a statement win for the Rebels (3-0).UNLV managed to build a 23-0 first-half lead but allowed 13 unanswered points before responding with a timely touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, ultimately providing sufficient cushion to take it to the finish line.Quarterback Anthony Colandrea found Var’keyes Gumms for a 17-yard touchdown completion with 12:04 remaining on an impressive six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The highlight of the drive was Colandrea’s 33-yard run that brought UNLV from midfield to within the red zone.Iamaleava and UCLA (0-2) answered UNLV’s response with a 30-yard touchdown run, again trimming the lead to 10 points as the extra point set the score at 30-20.It appeared UCLA quickly struck paydirt again by intercepting an ill-advised Colandrea pass and returning it for a touchdown, but referees ruled the UNLV quarterback was down before he threw the ball.The Bruins managed to march down the field again on their next possession, but a dropped pass in the end zone forced them to settle for Mateen Bhaghani’s 33-yard field goal to cut UNLV’s lead to 30-23. Their final drive appeared destined to tie the game, but Iamaleava’s untimely mishap spoiled it.UCLA’s second-half rally began with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate the first 7:12 of the third quarter. The march culminated with a 4-yard touchdown connection from Iamaleava to tight end Noah Fox-Flores to bring UCLA within 13 points, 23-10.