UNLV made a gallant push toward the top 15 at the NCAA men’s golf championship Sunday, but the Rebels ultimately fell short and saw their season come to an end.

The Rebels got as high as 18th during the afternoon before falling back to 23rd at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. UNLV finished at 32 over after posting its best round of the week, a 9-over 297.

Sophomore Zach Little had things going early on Sunday, but eventually the difficult course caught up with him. His 73 on Sunday left him at 3 over for the week in a tie for 36th. Little had gotten to 3 under midway through his round thanks to an eagle on the par-5 second and a pair of birdies. But consecutive double bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes ended his hot streak.

Senior Trevor Lewis closed with a 74, his best round of the week, while Caden Fioroni, Brett Sawaia and Wyatt Plattner all closed the season with 75s.

Defending champion Auburn, the No. 1 team in the nation, moved to the top of the leaderboard at 10 under. The Tigers will lead 15 teams into one final day of stroke play. After Monday’s round, the individual champion will be crowned and the top eight schools will move on to two days of match play to decide the national title.

Ole Miss junior Michael La Sasso is at 11 under with a two-stroke lead.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.