UNLV Hands CS Long Beach Second-Worst Loss : 49ers: They go without a point for almost six minutes in the first half. No. 1 Rebels pull away to a 114-63 victory.

Nothing unexpected happened at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday night. Which is to say that top-ranked Nevada Las Vegas went on one of its inevitable scoring streaks to wrap up another Big West Conference victory long before the end of the first half.

Cal State Long Beach stayed competitive for almost eight minutes before the Rebels ran off 16 consecutive points en route to a 53-25 halftime lead and an eventual 114-63 victory before 19,444.

It was the second-worst defeat in Long Beach history.

It was the 24th consecutive victory for the Rebels, who this season are 13-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big West. They have not won by fewer than 20 points.

The 49ers (5-9, 1-4) trailed by only 18-17 with 12:08 left in the half, but then, after UNLV switched to a zone defense, went almost six minutes without scoring. During that time, the Rebels turned one Long Beach turnover after another into easy baskets.

“I thought our concept of how to play them was good,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “I thought our triangle-and-two slowed them down, but when they get it going, it’s kind of awesome.”

On his way to 17 first-half points, guard Greg Anthony started the 16-0 run by converting a steal into a layup, then faked from outside and drove the lane for another basket.

Anthony then fed Anderson Hunt for a layup after another 49er error, and Stacey Augmon made a three-point basket for a 27-17 lead. Seven more consecutive points followed.

The Rebels dominated the boards in the first half, their offensive rebounding leading to several easy baskets.

Meanwhile, Long Beach could not get anything that resembled a good shot, making only five of its last 20 attempts in the first half after a five-for-nine start.

“When they went to their matchup (zone), we didn’t react well,” Greenberg said.

“Our kids hung their heads and didn’t compete. When you play the best transitional team in the country and don’t get back on defense, you’re not going to be very effective.”

UNLV All-American Larry Johnson, after scoring six points in the first half, finished with 23 points, one more than Anthony. Augmon had 17 points and tied Johnson for the rebounding lead with 11.

The 49ers, who shot only 33%, were led by Lucious Harris, who scored 26 points.

During the second half, with UNLV shooting 61%, the 49ers fell farther and farther behind and appeared in jeopardy of sustaining the worst defeat in their history. The record--a 101-48 loss to Pepperdine in 1954--would have been broken had Evric Gray’s three-point attempt gone in for the Rebels as the game ended.