Nevada Las Vegas Hardly Breaks Sweat in 103-85 Victory Over Fullerton

There were so many little acts of kindness by Nevada Las Vegas Saturday, and they made so little difference.

The Rebels played some zone defense, and they held the ball at times when points were there for the taking. There was none of that UNLV full-court man-to-man pressure, and precious little intimidation at all.

Little, that is, other than the sort that comes from watching a team that makes domination look like a matter of course, as UNLV did in a 103-85 victory over Cal State Fullerton in front of a sellout crowd of 4,000 at Titan Gym.

UNLV, road-weary by the time it played its fourth game this week, ran away from Fullerton in the first half, going up by as many as 23 points while making 68% of its shots, many of them fast-break layups.

“We were running really well and that’s what blew the game open for us,” UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian said.

UNLV could jog down on a two-on-two break. No matter, the Rebels’ passing was sharp enough to get the basket.

“We just couldn’t stop their running game,” said Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos, whose own style thrives on an up-and-down game. He scored 34 points, tying his career high. “I guess that’s why they call them the Runnin’ Rebels. They ran, and we couldn’t run with them. We run too, but we don’t run like that.”

Fullerton (12-15, 6-12 in the Big West Conference) finished the regular season by losing seven games in a row.

“We are disappointed after this loss, like we are after any loss,” Fullerton Coach John Sneed said. “Now we have to practice well to get ready for the tournament.”

UNLV, with David Butler scoring 26 points and Anderson Hunt adding 22, shot 65% for the game and became the first team to score 100 points against Fullerton since 1980, when Portland scored 100 against the Titans in the first game of a 4-23 Titan season.

The Rebels (26-5, 16-2), second-ranked before being upset by UC Santa Barbara Monday, will enter next week’s Big West tournament as the second-seeded team for the first time in the eight years they have been in the conference.

This is also the first time UNLV has shared the conference title.

New Mexico State, which tied UNLV for first place with a 16-2 record, is seeded first because it beat third-place UC Santa Barbara twice, while the Rebels and Gauchos split.

“I don’t care so much what we’re seeded in the Big West tournament,” Tarkanian said. “I’ll be very interested in where we’re seeded in the big tournament (the NCAA).”

Fullerton will play UC Irvine in the first round Wednesday, with the winner meeting UNLV Friday.

The game marked the end of a UNLV regular season marked by controversy and injuries, and included a number of suspensions for minor NCAA rules violations.

“It’s been a really hard season,” UNLV forward Larry Johnson said. “All the distractions off the court took their toll. This was a good game for us.”