Nevada Las Vegas Beats Utah State

Gerald Paddio scored a game-high 23 points, and Stacey Augmon added 17 points and 13 rebounds Thursday night to lead Nevada Las Vegas to a 94-74 victory over Utah State in their battle for first place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.

The Rebels, who appeared to have put the game away with an explosive first half, fought off a second-half surge by the Aggies to run their record to 22-3 overall and 11-2 in the PCAA.

Utah State, getting 19 from Reid Newey and 15 from Kevin Nixon, dropped to 16-7 overall and 11-3 in the conference.

UNLV ran off 19 consecutive points midway through the first half en route to a 45-22 halftime lead over the Aggies, who shot 30%.

The Rebels pulled away from a 15-12 lead with 12:26 left in the half and opened up a 34-12 lead before Nixon broke the Aggies’ drought with a free throw with 5:01 remaining.

UNLV’s tenacious pressure defense stripped the ball from the Aggies 7 times and forced 12 turnovers in the half in addition to blocking 4 shots.

Three-pointers by Nixon, Newey and Jon Judkins during a two-minute span midway through the second half helped the Aggies get back in the game.

Another three-point goal by Newey brought Utah State to within 12 with 6:26 left. But Rebel point guard Karl James responded with back-to-back three-pointers, and Paddio hit a three-pointer and a layup to cool the Aggies.