PCAA Roundup : UNLV Wins 16th Straight as Utah State Falls, 101-83

Ed Catchings scored 24 points and Richie Adams added 20 Saturday night to lead Nevada Las Vegas to its 16th straight victory, a 101-83 decision over Utah State.

The Rebels, 10-0 in Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. play and 17-2 overall, broke open the game at the 12-minute mark of the first half. The Rebels reeled off 10 unanswered points to take a 51-30 lead with two minutes left before coasting to a 53-39 halftime lead.

The Aggies came to within 60-56 with 13 minutes remaining before UNLV, ranked 13th and 16th in the national wire service polls, took control.

Vince Washington scored 24 points and Greg Grant added 19 for Utah State, which dropped to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in the conference.

The last time the teams met, on Jan. 2, they set an NCAA record by scoring 282 points in three overtimes in Logan, Utah, with UNLV winning 142-140.

UC Santa Barbara 76, New Mexico State 65--Scott Fisher scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Gauchos past the Aggies at Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos improved their record to 10-10 overall and 6-5 in the conference, while the Aggies dropped to 6-13 and 3-7.

UCSB led, 35-28, in the first half and the Aggies never got closer. New Mexico State trailed, 76-56, before scoring the final nine points over the last 3:00.

Gilbert Wilburn scored 31 points and Andre Patterson added 11 to lead New Mexico State.

Richard Townsend came off the bench to score 21 points for the Gauchos, including three 3-point goals. Khris Fortson added 10 points for UCSB.