March 18, 2004
Final Stats
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Bryan Defares had 12 points and a school-record 13 assists, and Aaron Haynes added 20 points to lead Boise State to an 84-69 victory over UNLV in the opening round of the NIT Wednesday night.
Jason Ellis scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Jermaine Blackburn added 15 points as Boise State (22-9) advanced to play Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Boise State dominated the first half, hitting its first six shots and racing to a 15-2 lead in the first 3? minutes. The Broncos shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and held the Rebels (18-13) to 29 percent, taking a 52-29 lead at halftime.
Defares, whose previous career high in assists was eight, had nine before halftime.
UNLV, which trailed by as many as 26 points, fought back with a 17-3 run midway through the second half to pull to 73-64 with 5:44 left. Michael Umeh scored 10 points and Odartey Blankson added the other seven during the spurt.
But Book Nabors hit a 3-pointer with 5:16 left to increase BSU's lead to 76-64 and the Rebels never threatened again.
Blankson led all scorers with 26 points and Jerel Blassingame added 12 for the Rebels.
