COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : DeHart, UC Santa Barbara Defense Beat No.2 UNLV

Carrick DeHart scored 24 points and UC Santa Barbara held second-ranked Nevada Las Vegas scoreless for four minutes in the second half of a 78-70 victory Monday night in a Big West Conference game at Santa Barbara.

Eric McArthur scored 15 points and had 20 rebounds for Santa Barbara.

The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Runnin’ Rebels, 24-5 overall and 14-2 in the Big West. UC Santa Barbara improved to 19-7 and 12-5.

The Gauchos won only their third game against Las Vegas, which holds a 19-3 series edge. Both previous Santa Barbara victories came in 1987-88, the only year the school has been to the NCAA tournament.

The Rebels trailed, 39-36, at halftime and never led in the second half.

Santa Barbara earned its biggest lead of the game, 71-60, on a 12-5 run that ended with 3:50 left to play.

The Gauchos held Las Vegas to 40% shooting and limited high-scoring Larry Johnson to 10 points. Johnson picked up his fourth foul in the opening minutes of the second half.

The Rebels were led by Greg Anthony with 18 points, and David Butler added 12.

The point total for Las Vegas was its third-lowest this season. Santa Barbara held the Rebels to 69 in a 69-67 loss earlier this season at Las Vegas. UNLV also scored 69 points in 69-64 victory over Fresno State.

St. John’s 76, Pittsburgh 75--Boo Harvey, a last-shot hero for the second time in three games, hit a 12-foot jump shot with three seconds for the Redmen in a Big East Conference game at Pittsburgh.

Harvey scored 20 points and is averaging 24 for St. John’s (23-7, 10-5). Brian Shorter had 24 points for Pitt (11-15, 5-10), which lost for the fourth time in five games.

Ohio State 86, No. 18 Illinois 80--Jim Jackson scored 28 points and Perry Carter had 14 of his 18 in the second half as the Buckeyes upset the Illini in a Big Ten Conference game at Columbus, Ohio.

Illinois (19-7, 9-7) trailed by 19 points in the first half, but outscored the Buckeyes, 23-2, over a 6 1/2-minute stretch to take a 45-43 lead early in the second half.

Ohio State (14-11, 8-7) took the lead for good, 58-56, on a three-point shot by Alex Davis with 10:29 left.

Pacific 64, Fresno State 60--Del Demps scored 17 points, including five three-point baskets, to lead the Tigers in a Big West game at Fresno.

Pacific (14-11, 7-9) had six other three-pointers. Fresno State fell to 4-12 and 9-16.