LAS VEGAS (AP)—Michael Umeh had a game-high 21 points and Ricky Morgan added 19 points and seven assists as UNLV never trailed and beat Long Beach State 108-73 Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Rebels (1-0) went on an 18-4 run to start the second half—including seven from Jason Petrimoulx—to take a 71-41 lead.
A Joe Darger basket with 2:21 to play put UNLV over the 100-point mark for the first time since a 101-78 win Dec. 17, 2002, against Tennessee-Martin.
Louis Amundson added 14 for the Rebels, Petrimoulx had 12 and Dustin Villepigue had six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Morgan and Umeh combined for 27 of UNLV’s 53 first-half points and the Rebels shot 64 percent from the field as they raced out to a 16 point halftime lead.
Long Beach State (0-1) got a team-high 14 points from Kevin Houston, but the 49ers committed 19 turnovers and shot 38 percent. They trailed by double digits for the game’s final 31:29.
Aaron Nixon added 13 points and Jibril Hodges had 11 for Long Beach State.
