March 14, 2003

Box Score

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Marcus Banks had 22 points, seven assists and six steals to lead No. 4 seed UNLV past No. 5 seed San Diego State 83-67 Thursday night in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

UNLV (20-9) now plays top-seeded Utah in the semifinals Friday night, while Colorado State plays BYU in the first semifinal.

Tony Bland led San Diego State (15-13), with 17 points and five assists.

UNLV led by as many as 11 in the first half and led 41-32 at halftime.

The Rebels pulled away in the second half, building three 18-point leads, the last at 67-49 with 6:49 to play.

San Diego State cut the lead to 70-59 with 4:47 left, but got no closer.

UNLV outscored San Diego State 44-26 in the paint and made 55.8 percent of its shots.

Banks went 11-for-11 from the free throw line and UNLV made 21-of-27 free throws as a team.

James Peters added 19 points for UNLV and Jermaine Lewis had 16 points and six assists.