Cal State Long Beach Trounced by UNLV, 86-66

It was a game only briefly, and then it turned into the kind of runaway for which Nevada Las Vegas is known.

The Runnin’ Rebels outscored Cal State Long Beach, 14-0, during a five-minute span late in the first half and went on to beat the 49ers, 86-66, at the Long Beach Arena Thursday night.

The game was decided before many of the 8,663 fans--the third-largest crowd in Long Beach history--had arrived.

It was 8-8 early, and then the 49ers’ challenge abruptly died.

“The greatest opportunity any club can have is to play the No. 1 team in the country,” Long Beach Coach Ron Palmer said after the 49ers lost their fourth straight game. “If you win, it’s instant notoriety, and if you lose, you’re just another team on their schedule.”

The 49ers were just another victim of the Rebels, who are 27-1 overall and 15-0 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.

“I never thought we’d get a 30-point lead at their place,” said Las Vegas Coach Jerry Tarkanian, who never had to chew on his towel. He spent most of the game with his legs stretched out and his hands behind his head, marveling at his team’s play.

“These guys rarely ever let up,” Tarkanian said. “It’s just an incredible group. Even in practice, we don’t have to push them. They just go to work.”

After forward Armon Gilliam had scored 15 points to give the Rebels a 26-19 lead, teammate Freddie Banks took over.

Banks hit two straight three-pointers, then added two more field goals during the 14-0 run. Long Beach, meanwhile, had trouble just getting off shots against the Rebels’ pressure defense. “Those kind of droughts have killed us all year,” said Palmer, whose team, once 5-1 in the PCAA, dropped to 7-8 and 12-15 overall.

Las Vegas built a 44-26 halftime lead, then increased it to 75-43 before Long Beach reduced the margin against the Rebel reserves.

Banks led Las Vegas with 20 points and Gilliam had 19.

John Hatten scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds for Long Beach, which lost by 30 to the Rebels earlier in the season.