Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990 TAG: 9003262029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OAKLAND, CALIF. LENGTH: Long
Second-ranked Nevada-Las Vegas ended Loyola Marymount's national basketball championship quest Sunday with a 131-101 victory in the NCAA Tournament West Region final, proving they are best in the West, if not the fastest. A season high for team points and Stacey Augmon's 33 points sent the Runnin' Rebels racing into the Final Four.
The No. 21 Lions (26-6) couldn't beat UNLV (33-5) with Hank Gathers in the lineup last November, and even a superb performance by Gathers' close friend, Bo Kimble, couldn't prevent them from losing their first game since Gathers died March 4.
Kimble scored 42 points, seven more than his nation-leading average, grabbed 11 rebounds and hit eight of 11 3-point field-goal attempts. However, his teammates shot just 34 percent against UNLV's harrying defense.
"Going out with class, that was the most important thing," Kimble said.
Augmon had plenty of scoring help from his teammates - Anderson Hunt had 30 points, Greg Anthony put in 21 and Larry Johnson added 20 points and 18 rebounds.
UNLV scored its most points this season and held the nation's highest-scoring team 23 points short of its average despite the breakneck pace. The Rebels sprinted out of reach for good by reeling off 13 straight points late in the first half.
"There were three things we had to do," UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian said. "We had to beat the press, we had to score when we had the numbers and we had to get back and stop the transition. We did all three."
The victory sends the Rebels into their third Final Four, all in the last 14 years, against Southeast Region champion Georgia Tech on Saturday in Denver. UNLV lost in the semifinals in both previous appearances, to North Carolina in 1977 and Indiana in 1987.
Loyola Marymount, meanwhile, headed home a winner in its mission to honor Gathers' memory. The Lions won three emotional victories in advancing the furthest they ever have in the tournament.
"I told our team I was proud of them," Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead said. "It was a good long run for us. We ran our fast break. Las Vegas was just a better team today. Jerry had been ready for the run."
Kimble left to a thunderous ovation from the Oakland Coliseum crowd with a minute left. He couldn't do it alone, though, and the Lions couldn't overcome the loss of Gathers, last year's No. 1 scorer.
Jeff Fryer scored 21 points for Loyola Marymount. A 49 percent shooter from 3-point range in the tournament, he was only 1-for-9 on the long shots in the first half.
UNLV, which beat Loyola Marymount 102-91 in their season-opener, shot just 45 percent overall in its previous two victories and made only 25 percent of its 3-point tries in the tournament.
That was not the case on Sunday.
Augmon hit the first of several soft bank shots from the left side 11 seconds into the game, and UNLV made its first six shots en route to a 16-4 lead after three minutes. The Lions tied it at 2-2 and 4-4, but they got a dose of their own style of quick, pressing defense that forced numerous turnovers in the Rebels' 12-point run.
The Rebels rolled to a 35-17 lead less than midway through the half, scoring on repeated fast-break layups, although the pace was taking its toll. Johnson could be seen gasping for breath and doubled over barely seven minutes into the game during a break in the frantic play.
Loyola Marymount's tenacious defense enabled the Lions to climb rapidly back into the game. Kimble, who went 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in the half, hit two during a 19-6 spurt while UNLV starting guards Anthony and Hunt were taking a breather on the bench.
Kimble drew a standing ovation when he sank a free throw left-handed, his tribute to Gathers, and he made the second right-handed to pull Loyola Marymount to 41-37 with 5:22 left, but the Lions would get no closer.
Soon after returning to the game, Anthony had a 3-pointer and a three-point play and Hunt got one of his five first-half steals in the 13-point flurry that took just 63 seconds and made it 56-39.
Augmon's steal and layup with 46 seconds left gave the Rebels their largest lead at 65-44. He hit another soft shot off the glass to make it 67-47 at halftime - UNLV's season high for one half - and bring him within nine points of his career high for a game.
Chants of "44", Gathers' number, filtered down from restless Loyola Marymount fans as the Lions fell behind by 20.
Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead had called his players "a very mediocre team" without Gathers, but the Lions entered their rematch with UNLV with a 4-1 record against Top 25 teams in Gathers' absence.
In addition to tournament wins over New Mexico State, Michigan and Alabama since his death, the Lions beat Oregon State and lost to Oklahoma when Gathers was out of the lineup with an injury earlier this year. They were 1-3 against ranked teams with Gathers in the lineup, beating LaSalle and losing to UNLV, Xavier and Louisiana State.
The Rebels beat Loyola Marymount on Nov. 15 despite Gathers' 18 points and 11 rebounds and the absence of David Butler and Moses Scurry, both academically ineligible at the time.
Kimble made eight of 13 3-point shots Saturday, all six of his free throws and also had 11 rebounds as he finished seven points above his average.
Down 20 points at halftime to the bigger Rebels in the battle for best in the West, Loyola Marymount made one last bid to keep alive its improbable dream of reaching the Final Four for the first time.
Kimble hit two quick 3-pointers to start the second half to make it 67-53, but the closest Loyola Marymount could get was 13 points.
UNLV, leading 84-70, ended all doubt with a 34-10 blitz that made it 118-80 with five minutes remaining, the game's biggest margin.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (101)
Kimble 14-32 6-6 42, Stumer 2-4 0-0 4, Knight 4-8 0-0 8, T.Walker 1-1 2-3 4, Fryer 7-24 3-3 21, Lowery 6-16 2-2 18, Scott 0-2 0-0 0, Peabody 0-2 0-1 0, O'Connell 0-0 1-2 1, Lee 1-2 0-0 3, Slater 0-2 0-0 0, G.Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Roscoe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-94 14-17 101.\ UNLV (131)
Augmon 13-20 7-7 33, Johnson 10-14 0-1 20, Butler 4-7 1-5 9, Hunt 11-23 4-6 30, Anthony 8-10 2-3 21, Cvijanovich 0-0 2-2 2, Jones 2-3 3-4 7, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Scurry 3-4 2-2 8, Bice 0-4 1-2 1, Rice 0-0 0-0 0, Jeter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 51-86 22-32 131.
Halftime-67-47, UNLV. Three-point goals-Loyola 17-41 (Kimble 8-11, Lowery 4-9, Fryer 4-16, Lee 1-1, Stumer 0-2, Peabody 0-2), UNLV 7-18 (Hunt 4-12, Anthony 3-4, Bice 0-2). Fouled out-Butler. Rebounds-Loyola 43 (Kimble 11), UNLV 64 (Johnson 18). Assists-Loyola 23 (Lowery 6), UNLV 35 (Hunt 13). Total fouls- Loyola 27, UNLV 17. Technicals-Kimble, Loyola Marymount coach Westhead. A-14,298.
by CNB