College Basketball Roundup : Banks, Gilliam Lead Nevada Las Vegas on a 105-81 Runaway

Freddie Banks scored a game-high 22 points and Armon Gilliam added 20 Friday night as top-ranked Nevada Las Vegas routed outmanned Ohio University, 105-81, in the Rebel Roundup college basketball tournament at Las Vegas.

In tonight’s championship game, the Rebels (8-0) will play Louisiana Tech (4-3), which beat Duquesne, 82-64.

Las Vegas had little trouble with Ohio, racing to a 68-40 halftime lead. The Rebels shot 68% in the first half and used a full-court trapping press to force Ohio into 16 turnovers in the half.

Banks scored 17 of his points in the half, while Gilliam had 16.

Five Las Vegas players scored in double figures as the Rebels topped the 100-point mark for the second game in a row.

John Rhodes scored 17 points for Ohio, while Reggie Renkin chipped in 15 for the Bobcats, who fell to 4-5.

In the first game, Louis Cook scored 20 points to lead six Louisiana Tech players in double figures as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half.

Duquesne shot 36%, while Louisiana Tech shot 51%.

Emmett Sellers of Duquesne led all scorers with 27 points.

Kentucky 75, Iona 59--Robert Lock had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats, who took a 33-21 halftime lead and led by as many as 24 points in the second half in the first round of the Kentucky Invitational at Lexington, Ky.

Freshman Rex Chapman had 16 points for Kentucky, followed by James Blackmon with 14 and Ed Davender with 13. David Wagner had 20 points for Iona (4-3).

Kentucky’s Irving Thomas and Iona’s Tony Wright were ejected from the game with 8:25 remaining after a scuffle.

In tonight’s final, Kentucky (4-1) will face Boston University (5-2), which defeated Texas A&M;, 65-63.

Texas 59, Bowling Green 44--Patrick Fairs scored all of his 21 points in the second half as the Longhorns (5-4) rallied to beat the Falcons (2-4) in the first round of the Longhorn tournament at Austin, Tex.

Texas trailed, 21-19, at halftime before Fairs and Wayne Thomas found the range. Thomas scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

North Carolina Charlotte 81, San Diego State 66--Michael Milling had 16 points for NC Charlotte, which pulled away with a 14-6 run after taking a 41-38 halftime lead in the Volunteer tournament at Knoxville, Tenn.

Darryl Gaines had 16 points and Tony Ross 14 for the Aztecs (1-4). In the second game, Dyron Nix scored a career-high 25 points as Tennessee (3-1) scored a 78-52 win over Ball State (3-5). Ball State, with no player taller than 6-6, trailed at halftime, 32-19.

Oklahoma State 87, BYU Hawaii 79--Sylvester Kincheon had 20 points, making 9 of 12 shots, and Todd Christian and Ray Alford added 16 each for the Cowboys (3-4) at Stillwater, Okla.

BYU Hawaii (5-4), an NAIA school, was led by David Heaton with 22 points.

LSU 77, Hardin Simmons 71--Anthony Wilson scored 22 points, and Jose Vargas added 17 for the Tigers, who held on after leading by only four points with 48 seconds left in the LSU tournament at Baton Rouge, La.

In the final, LSU (4-2) will face New Orleans (4-2), which defeated Northwestern Louisiana, 71-57. Ledell Eackles led New Orleans with 19 points.

Utah 66, Denver 63--Gale Gondrezick hit a three-pointer with four seconds left as the Utes turned back the Division II Pioneers at Salt Lake City.

Gondrezick scored 19 points for the Utes (6-2), while Ira Harge had 18 points for the Pioneers (5-6).

Ohio State 85, Jacksonville 74--Dennis Hopson had 24 points, and Jerry Francis and John Anderson had a total of 11 points in the last two minutes for the Buckeyes (7-1) in the Gator Bowl tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.

Jacksonville (2-5), which trailed by as many as 17 points, cut the lead to 3 late in the game before Francis and Anderson took over.

In the opener, Vernon Maxwell scored 21 points and Andrew Moten added 20 as Florida (7-1) scored an 82-60 win over Virginia Tech (1-4).

Virginia Tech’s Russell Pierre, playing his first game after transferring from North Carolina State, scored 21 points.

Northwestern 69, Florida Southern 68--A three-pointer by Shawn Watts with one second left lifted the Wildcats to victory at Evanston, Ill.

The Wildcats (5-2) forced a turnover with 30 seconds left and called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining. After the Wildcats worked the ball around, Watts hit a 21-foot shot.

Florida Southern’s Phil Bradley scored 22 points, and William Wilcox added 20. Shon Morris led Northwestern with 15 points.

Georgia 82, LaSalle 65--David Dunn scored 21 points, and Willie Anderson led a 14-0 blitz in the stretch as the Bulldogs (5-2) put away the Explorers (4-3) in the Hawaiian Tropic tournament at Daytona Beach, Fla.

In the opener, Randy Anderson had 32 points and 12 rebounds as Stetson (3-3) scored an 88-68 win over Eastern Kentucky, which missed 14 of 16 three-point shots.

Vanderbilt 89, Tennessee Tech 65--Scott Draud came off the bench to score 21 points, including five three-pointers, for the Commodores, who pulled away after taking a 40-35 halftime lead in the Music City Invitational at Nashville, Tenn.

In tonight’s final, Vanderbilt will meet Kansas State (7-1), which defeated Illinois State, 87-86, in overtime. Lance Simmons led the Wildcats with 17 points.