Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 24, 1991 TAG: 9103240175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SEATTLE LENGTH: Medium
Larry Johnson started a UNLV feeding frenzy in the second half Saturday that gobbled up Seton Hall, led to a 77-65 victory and sent the defending NCAA champions to Indianapolis.
Johnson, who finished with 30 points and was voted the outstanding player in the NCAA West Regionals, pumped in 3-pointers to open and close UNLV's 14-0 surge just after halftime that turned a 3-point Rebels lead into a 53-36 runaway.
Coach Jerry Tarkanian had worried about his players' intensity, but Tark the Shark licked his lips - when he wasn't biting his nails - watching this show against Seton Hall.
"We played great in the second half," Tarkanian said. "We were as good as we could be. I couldn't be prouder of the way we played."
The defending champions ran their season record to 34-0 and their winning streak to 45 games, the fourth-longest in NCAA Division I history.
"The start of the second half is the way we played most of the season. We played like the old Rebels," said UNLV's Stacey Augmon. "That was the back-breaker. You could see it in their eyes. They were confused."
UNLV stole the ball nine times in the second half for a total of 14 in the game and stopped Seton Hall's top scorers cold.
"We couldn't even in-bound the ball for a stretch of about five or six minutes," said Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Johnson said, "It all started on defense. We made the plays on defense, which set up the points."
Terry Dehere, Seton Hall's biggest scoring threat, managed only three points in the second half for a total of 15.
Much more than sweet revenge against a Seton Hall team that routed the Rebels in the 1989 West Regionals, the victory put UNLV within two victories of an historic niche.
The Rebels, who next Saturday play the winner of today's Duke-St. John's Midwest Regional final, are seeking to become the first team since UCLA in 1973 to win consecutive NCAA basketball championships and the first since Indiana in 1976 to win the title undefeated.
The victory Saturday ended a tie with the Texas teams of 1913-17 for the fourth-longest Division I victory streak. If the Rebels become the eighth unbeaten national champions, they would would tie the Lew Alcindor-led UCLA team of 1966-68 for the third-longest streak ever.
Seton Hall (25-9) led 8-2 with eight straight points, capped by freshman Arturas Karnishovas' 3-pointer from the top of the circle.
But UNLV woke up quickly, breaking up Seton Hall's offense with steals, to sprint to easy layups and dunks in a 14-4 run that put the Rebels ahead 16-12. Johnson scored six of his 12 first-half points during that stretch, all from the inside.
Seton Hall, unable to whip the ball inside, took to the outside and tied the score at 24-24 on another 3-pointer by Karnishovas.
Stacey Augmon answered with a 3-pointer of his own, and the Rebels made it 30-24 with the help of another steal. Each time the Rebels threatened to break open the game, though, the Pirates found a way to hang in.
Trailing by its largest deficit of the first half, 37-30, Seton Hall scored six points in a row on free throws as UNLV's floor leader, Greg Anthony, picked up his second and third fouls and sat down with 2:38 left in the half. An offensive rebound and layup by reserve Eric Gray put UNLV ahead 39-36 at halftime.
Seton Hall shot 35 percent from the field in the first half but hit nine of 10 free throws. UNLV hit 49 percent from the field and made two of four free throws. Seton Hall outrebounded UNLV 22-17 in the half.
After the 14-0 run in the second half, which gave UNLV 16 points in a row with Gray's basket ending the first half, Seton Hall never again threatened. After a layup by Gordon Winchester stopped the streak, Anderson Hunt hit a 3-pointer to make it 56-38.
Nothing the Pirates did worked. They tried to slow the ball but had it stolen. They tried to steal the ball back but were left flat-footed. The Pirates turned over the ball 18 times - twice as many as UNLV - and shot only 40 percent for the game. UNLV hit 49 percent.
Augmon and Hunt each had 13 points for UNLV. Anthony scored six points and had 11 assists and five steals.
Johnson, who had six rebounds and three steals, dominated even more than he had in the previous three playoff games. The 6-foot-7, 250-pounder used his muscle inside to push away the younger, thinner Pirates, then went outside an shot with ease, hitting 13 of 19 field-goal attempts overall.
Johnson was joined by Augmon and Anthony on the all-regional team. Dehere and Arizona's Brian Williams also were selected.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB