SOUTHLAND ROUNDUP

Nevada Las Vegas 77, UC Irvine 55--The Rebels (5-4) pulled away from the Anteaters (2-7) with runs of 12-1 and 14-3 in the final 12 minutes at Las Vegas.

Las Vegas had lost to No. 19 Syracuse last Saturday and will play host to ninth-ranked UCLA on Saturday, so Irvine was supposed to be the cream-puff filling.

“I think they thought they were going to come out, throw the ball up and go home,” said Irvine forward Ben Jones, who had a team-high 15 points. “I think they found out pretty early on that it was not going to be that way.”

The Rebels were clinging to a 47-43 lead before they asserted themselves. Their leading scorer, 6-foot-9, 250-pound Kaspars Kambala, scored seven of his 14 points in the final seven minutes.