PCAA Roundup : Las Vegas Gets Past Utah State

Nevada Las Vegas is known for its fast-paced brand of basketball, but it was a more deliberate style of play that helped the No. 10-ranked Rebels beat Utah State, 87-79, in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game Saturday at Logan, Utah.

The Rebels used their patented run-and-gun style to open up a first-half lead, but Utah State struck early in the second half to take its first and only lead of the game. It was about that time that Coach Jerry Tarkanian switched from a man-on-man defense to the zone.

Anthony Jones scored 31 points and Fred Banks added 28 for Las Vegas (21-1 overall, 10-0 in the PCAA). Greg Grant scored 28 for Utah State (6-12, 2-7).

Pacific 63, Fresno State 52--Rich Anema scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers (11-10, 4-6) over Fresno State (12-9, 5-5) at Stockton, Calif.

For Pacific, it was the first win over Fresno since 1983. The Tigers had lost six straight to the Bulldogs.

Fresno, outrebounded, 45-47, was down by 10 points at halftime and by 12 early in the second half. But Pacific led by only four points, 55-51, with 2:37 remaining before outscoring the Bulldogs, 8-1, the rest of the way.

Brian Salone had 22 points and 8 rebounds for Fresno.

New Mexico State 71, UC Santa Barbara 67--Junior guard Kenny Travis scored a season-high 32 points and forward Gilbert Wilburn added 19 to lead the Aggies at Las Cruces, N.M.

The Gauchos (9-11, 4-7) were led by guard Conner Henry, who made four three-point shots and scored 23 points. The win was the 10th in the last 11 games for the Aggies (14-4, 8-1).