Dec 23, 2001

Box Score

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Chris Owens had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Brandon Mouton and T.J. Ford added 15 points apiece as Texas beat UNLV 87-78 on Saturday night.

Texas (7-3) won its sixth game in a row, but what appeared to be a runaway turned into a close game as UNLV rallied in the second half behind guard Marcus Banks.

UNLV (5-4) closed to 73-72 on a basket by Dalron Johnson with 4:20 left, but Texas countered with an 8-2 run.

Banks ended up with a career-high 26 points for UNLV, and Lou Kelly added 22.

Texas led 36-21 at halftime, and took its biggest lead, 50-32, with about 14 minutes left. But UNLV went on a 13-4 run to get back into the game, and crept closer on a pair of 3-pointers by Kelly, the last coming with 5:16 left.

Both teams had trouble at the foul line, with Texas making 12 of 25 free throws and UNLV hitting 19 of 31.