Thunder stops Houston

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 10:43 a.m.

Patrice Lefebvre had a goal and two assists to lead the Las Vegas Thunder to a 4-1 win Sunday over the Houston Aeros in front of 7,878 at the Compaq Center.

The loss snapped a five-game Houston winning streak.

Lefebvre's goal capped the win at 6:08 of the third period. He assisted on the game-opening tally by Steve Bancroft and on Russ Romaniuk's game-winner at 7:15 of the second.

Mike Maurice also scored for the Thunder (29-33-7).

David Oliver saved Houston (43-20-7) from the shutout, scoring 4:06 into the second period.

The Thunder took only 16 shots at Houston netminder Christian Soucy, who finished with 12 saves. Manny Legace made 31 saves to preserve the win.

Rebels rout Grand Canyon

All-American Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs and Kevin Eberwin slammed one each as the UNLV baseball team crushed Grand Canyon College 11-3 in a Western Athletic Conference baseball game Sunday at Phoenix. The winning pitcher was Andy McCullough, who struck out six batters and walked one in six innings. The Rebels, who won two of three games at Phoenix, improved their WAC record to 4-2. They're 19-8 overall. UNLV takes on fourth-ranked Arizona at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Wilson Stadium.

In other UNLV news:

The softball team, dropped two WAC games at San Diego State, losing the opener 1-0 and the nightcap 6-5. UNLV's Brandi Isgar gave up only one run in the opener but lost a pitching duel to the Aztecs' Tara Arkins. The Lady Rebels blew a 5-0 lead provided by Raven Coberg's grand slam in the second game. San Diego State won it with an unearned run in the eighth inning.

San Diego State defeated the UNLV men's tennis team 4-3 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. It was the Rebels' first home loss of the season. UNLV is now 2-2 in the WAC and 7-4 overall.

Andretti wins Miami GP again

It's hard to tiptoe at 200 mph, but there was Michael Andretti doing just that on the last lap of the Grand Prix of Miami Sunday in Homestead, Fla. Andretti, the winningest active driver in CART's FedEx Championship Series, had not visited the victory podium since this same season-opening race a year earlier. With Greg Moore looming in his mirrors as the 150-lap race neared its end on Sunday, the 36-year-old Andretti was trying to pick his way through slower traffic without giving his pursuer any openings. It wound up being too close for comfort. "The last five laps, I played it real conservative," Andretti said. "I was almost too conservative. But I think I still had something left there if we needed it." He passed defending series champion Alex Zanardi for the lead 43 laps from the end and was able to stay out front the rest of the way in the 225-mile event for his 37th career win -- the most by any active CART driver. Moore, more than 2 mph faster than anyone else in qualifying, came back from a jack failure that nearly knocked him out of contention. The 22-year-old Canadian passed Zanardi for second place on lap 145, then began to stalk Andretti's Ford-powered Swift. Richie Hearn of Henderson finished 13th and Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas placed 15th.

In another auto race:

Mike McLaughlin, getting a break when race leader Robert Pressley hit a backmarker with eight laps remaining, drove to victory Sunday in the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 320 at Nashville Speedway USA. Pressley got caught up behind the lapped cars of Mark Green and Ed Berrier as they entered the third turn, and clipped the rear of Green's Chevrolet. That started the mishap that also involved Berrier, Glenn Allen and Elliott Sadler. McLaughlin, running right behind Pressley when the accident happened, darted to the inside and cruised to the fourth win of his NASCAR Busch Series career in a race that finished under caution. It was McLaughlin's first victory since June, 1997, at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Rios takes Newsweek title

The new 'bad boy' of the tennis tour? Or just putting people on? Marcelo Rios, the pony-tailed Chilean who says he wound up as a tennis player because he hated school, doesn't mind when people say he's not nice. "I think I'm not nice; I don't care," Rios said after outlasting Greg Rusedski 6-3, 6-7 (15-17), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 Sunday to capture the Newsweek Champions Cup at Indian Wells, Calif. Bad boy or not, the 22-year-old Rios has made a rapid climb up the world rankings, vaulting from seventh to No. 3 by winning the Champions Cup. He has a 19-3 match record this year and has reached the finals in three of five tournaments. One of the finals was the Australian Open, the first time he made it to a Grand Slam tournament championship match.

Virginia coach resigns

After eight years as head basketball coach, Virginia's Jeff Jones resigned following a disappointing 11-19 season that gave the Cavaliers their most losses in 35 years. Jones' resignation, announced Sunday night, comes amid an NCAA investigation into possible recruiting violations in the Cavaliers' program. However, the probe is not believed to have been a factor in Jones' departure. Last summer, Jones was given a two-year contract extension after lengthy discussions with athletic director Terry Holland. But Jones was seeking a longer deal, and the short term may have hampered recruiting. Jones, 37, will leave March 31. Holland said a search for Jones' successor would begin immediately and that he has not yet contacted anyone.

Columbus keeps ABL title

The (Ohio) Columbus Quest may be looking for two new starters after winning their second straight American Basketball League championship. Forward Andrea Lloyd said before the playoffs she would be retiring at the end of the season. Center Valerie Still hinted strongly after Columbus' title-clinching 86-81 victory Sunday over the Long Beach StingRays that she may be joining Lloyd. Still, 36, has been playing professionally for 14 years, including 12 in Italy. If Sunday's game was her last, Still assured herself of going out on top. She scored 25 points and was 10-for-11 from the free throw line as she clinched the playoff MVP award for the second straight year.

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