LAS VEGAS — UNLV nearly let a big lead fritter away against Louisville.

Oscar Bellfield scored 17 points, Tre'Von Willis added 16 and the Runnin' Rebels held on for a 76-71 win over the No. 16 Cardinals yesterday, a game the Mountain West upstarts led by 19 points in the second half.

The Cardinals (4-1) used a 30-11 run to overcome the 53-34 deficit with 14:05 left, tying the score at 64-64 on Rakeem Buckles' basket with 4:24 left. Bellfield answered with six straight points, and the Runnin' Rebels (5-0) managed to hang on.

"Oscar was great," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "He kept battling."

Buckles scored eight of his 10 points during Louisville's tying run. He also finished with 11 rebounds, while Edgar Sosa had 18 points and Samardo Samuels 13.

"That was a game that showed a lot about our team," Kruger said. "You see a lot of pressure from (Rick) Pitino teams. ... Our team has been very unselfish. Our depth is huge — it has already paid us dividends."

UNLV went into Freedom Hall and won 56-55 last season. Before that, Louisville had won four straight in the series dating to 1993.

"It's not a bad loss," Pitino said. "It's not surprising when you play a road game like this, this early in the season. It's a difficult place to play."

NO. 2 MICHIGAN STATE 106, MASSACHUSETTS 68

Tom Izzo won his 341st game at Michigan State (5-1), setting the school record for victories in a win over Massachusetts (2-4) in the Legends Classic at Atlantic City, N.J. Chris Allen led the Spartans with 18 points.

NO. 4 VILLANOVA 81, LASALLE 63

Antonio Pena and Scottie Reynolds scored 14 points each, and host Villanova (6-0) beat city rival LaSalle (3-2). Corey Fisher added 13 points and six steals for the Wildcats.

NO. 6 PURDUE 64, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 38

E'Twaun Moore scored 15 points, Robbie Hummel had 11 points and 11 rebounds and host Purdue (5-0) beat Central Michigan (2-4). Purdue held the Chippewas to just 28.3 percent from the field.

NO. 17 OHIO STATE 110, ST. FRANCIS, PA. 47

Jon Diebler hit five 3-pointers early as host Ohio State (5-1) beat St. Francis, Pa. (1-5). Diebler scored 15 of his 17 points during a quick start, and Evan Turner had 16 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists for St. Francis.

NO. 18 GEORGETOWN 97, LAFAYETTE 64

Jason Clark had a career-high 19 points, freshman Hollis Thompson added 16 and host Georgetown (4-0) put six players in double-figures against Lafayette (4-2). Chris Wright had 14 points and Greg Monroe finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Georgetown.

BRADLEY 72, NO. 20 ILLINOIS 68

Andrew Warren scored 16 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, to lift Bradley (4-2) over Illinois (4-2) at the Las Vegas Invitational. Warren's basket put the Braves up 68-66. Bradley ended the game on an 11-2 run.

NO. 23 NOTRE DAME 64, SAINT LOUIS 52

Luke Harangody scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, and Notre Dame (6-1) beat Saint Louis (4-2) to take third place in the Chicago Invitational Challenge. Notre Dame also got 14 points from Ben Hansbrough.

NO. 25 OKLAHOMA 81, NICHOLLS ST. 60

Cade Davis scored 18 points and Oklahoma (3-3) beat Nicholls State (0-8) in the fifth-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. Tiny Gallon added 15 points for Oklahoma, while Tony Crocker and Steven Pledger scored 14 apiece.

LOCAL DIVISION II MEN

BYU-HAWAI'I 102, OAKLAND CITY (IND.) 67

Jet Chang scored 26 points and the Seasiders (2-0) forced 29 turnovers in a victory over the Mighty Oaks (2-2). Anthony Reilly added 18 points and seven assists off the bench, and Marques Whippy had 15 points and seven rebounds for BYU-Hawai'i. Jared Maners scored 21 points to lead Oakland City.

LOCAL DIVISION II WOMEN

HAWAI'I PACIFIC 74, BYU-HAWAI'I 63

Tiffany Wilson scored 18 points and Jazzmin Awa-Williams added 17 as the visiting Sea Warriors (2-2) beat the Seasiders (1-1) in the Hawai'i DII Tournament. Richelle Fenenbock came off the bench to score 30 points for the Seasiders, who trailed by as many as 28.

HAWAI'I-HILO 97, CHAMINADE 83

Hina Kimitete scored 20 points and Kayce Kirihara added 19 as the Vulcans (2-4) beat the Silverswords (0-2) in the Hawai'i DII Tournament at BYUH. Megan Kamehiro scored 20 points to lead the Silverswords.