BIG WEST ROUNDUP : Angry Rebels Rout Utah State; Fight Breaks Out After Game

Stacey Augmon scored a career-high 34 points Thursday night as No. 12-ranked Nevada Las Vegas routed Utah State, 124-90, in a game that was followed by a brawl at Las Vegas.

Coach Jerry Tarkanian and his players were angry over Utah State Coach Kohn Smith’s remarks last year that UNLV players drove nicer cars than athletes at other colleges. Although Kohn later apologized, Tarkanian refused to accept it and promised that his players would be up for the game.

The brawl apparently was triggered by an incident with seven seconds left when UNLV’s Chris Jeter leveled Utah State’s Gary Patterson with a blow that put Patterson on the floor for several minutes.

Tarkanian said the comments may have inspired his team but did not cause the fight.

Players from both teams traded punches in front of the Utah State bench that left one Aggie bloodied and two UNLV players knocked to the floor.

Smith was hit several times as he tried to restore order and it took several minutes before security personnel were able to get the teams apart.

Tarkanian said he didn’t see the play that caused Patterson to go down but said Jeter told him the two players simply butted heads.

All five starters scored in double figures for Nevada Las Vegas (15-4, 9-1). Utah State (11-10, 5-5) lost its third consecutive game.

Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt and Greg Anthony each had 17 points for UNLV. Kendall Youngblood led Utah State with 16 points.

UC Santa Barbara 57, Pacific 45--Sophomore forward Paul Johnson scored 18 points, including four three-pointers, and Eric McArthur added 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Gauchos at Santa Barbara.