Lopsided first half leads UNLV past Kent State

OMAHA, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Joe Darger scored 18 points Thursday afternoon as Nevada-Las Vegas used a record-setting first half to coast past Kent State, 71-58, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The eighth seed in the Midwest Regional, UNLV (27-7) opened a 31-10 halftime lead over the ninth-seeded Golden Flashes (28-7). The 10 points marked the lowest first-half scoring total in NCAA Tournament history.

Darger shot 7-of-11 from the floor, making four shots from the arc. Wink Adams scored 17 points while Rene Rougeau added 12 and 10 rebounds for the Runnin' Rebels, who will take on top-seeded Kansas in Saturday's second round.

Mike Scott scored 14 points to pace Kent State, the Mid-American Conference champion which entered this matinee contest with 11 wins in its last 12 games.

But UNLV completely shut down Kent State in the opening 20 minutes, limiting the Golden Flashes to just 21 percent shooting (5-of-24) in the first half.

Kent State averaged a turnover per minute throughout most of the first half and went an entire eight-minute stretch without a point.

Quaintance Haminn and Chris Singletary both finished with 12 points for the Golden Flashes, who committed 20 turnovers and finished just under 36 percent (21-of-59) from the floor.

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