SALT LAKE CITY -- Stacey Augmon led the Nevada-Las Vegas showtime offense with 16 points Thursday night and the No. 2 Rebels easily whipped Arkansas-Little 102-72 in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Tournament.
David Butler added 14 points for UNLV's balanced offense, All-America forward Larry Johnson and James Jones 13 each, Barry Young and Travis Bice 12 apiece and Anderson Hunt 11.
And Johnson led all rebounders with 12 for the Rebels (30-5).
Las Vegas used its speed, depth and inside play to simply run the Trojans into the ground. With a 70-39 lead and 11 minutes left in the game, Coach Jerry Tarkanian benched his regulars and let the reserves complete the rout.
James Scott led Little Rock with 23 points and Derrick Owens added 17 and Rod Wade 14. But Scott 17 of his points in the final 9:23, against the UNLV reserves.
Domination of the inside was the major difference as the Rebels scored 48 of their points on dunks, layups or short jumpers, to only 20 points in the paint for the Trojans.
It was over quickly for Little Rock (20-10), seeded last in the 16-team West, as top-seeded UNLV used a 23-10 run to lead 27-14 and took a 44-25 halftime advantage. Augmon led the way in the opening half with 12 points and Johnson had 10.
Las Vegas held UALR to just 22.9 percent shooting in the first half and 32 percent in the game while shooting 54 percent. The Rebels also had a 52-43 rebounding advantage and eight blocks, including four by Johnson.
With the victory, the Rebels continued their string of never losing an NCAA first-round game, although UNLV lost its tournament opener in 1983 after receiving a first-round bye.
