Jan. 13, 2001
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Kevin Bradley scored 13 points and Britton Johnsen had 12 as Utah used a late 10-0 run to defeat Nevada-Las Vegas 79-70 on Saturday.
Phil Cullen had 11 points and Travis Spivey added 10 for the Utes (10-6, 2-0 Mountain West), who extended their homecourt winning streak in conference play to 39 games, the longest in the nation.
It was tied at 63 with 3:47 to play when Utah began double- and triple-teaming the Rebels' post men and forcing shots from the perimeter.
UNLV (10-6, 1-1) missed four jumpers and Kaspars Kambala had a turnover in a 3-minute span. Utah's Nick Jacobson then had four of 10 consecutive points as the Utes scored on five straight possessions.
The Rebels, who saw their seven-game winning streak snapped, were forced to foul, but Utah made 7-of-8 free throws in the last minute.
After a slow start, the Utes have won six of their last eight and sit in their familiar spot atop the conference standings. Utah has won its last six league regular-season titles in the Western Athletic Conference and the MWC.
Trevor Diggs scored 14 points while Lafonte Johnson and Kambala had 12 each for UNLV.
The starting frontline of Dalron Johnson, Lou Kelly and Kambala shot a combined 7-of-26 before two uncontested dunks in the closing moments. Kambala had 13 rebounds but Utah outrebounded the Rebels 37-32.
Despite 13 first-half turnovers, Utah battled back and tied it at 33-33 on Cullen's 3-pointer just before halftime. It was tied six times in the second half before the Utes seized control.
Both teams have lost their head coaches and suffered from inconsistency in pre-conference games.
Utah's Rick Majerus coached only one game to rehabilitate a surgically repaired knee, followed by a procedure to clear two blocked heart arteries. He will miss the rest of the season while tending to his ailing mother in Milwaukee.
The Utes are under the direction of assistant Dick Hunsaker.
UNLV's Bill Bayno was fired on Dec. 12 after the NCAA announced sanctions stemming from recruiting violations. Assistant Max Good took over, although reports surfaced last week that the school was pursuing Rick Pitino after his resignation from the Boston Celtics.
