CHICAGO - Shades of the Shark. UNLV won its first NCAA tournament game in 16 years, beating Georgia Tech 67-63 Friday behind 19 points each from Michael Umeh and Wendell White.

UNLV's Jo Adams reacts after a turnover during the second half of their Midwest Regional NCAA first round basketball game against UNLV in Chicago, Friday, March 16, 2007. UNLV defeated Georgia Tech 67-63. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey)

The last time the Runnin' Rebels won was under Jerry Tarkanian, who led them to the 1991 Final Four. Now under coach Lon Kruger, UNLV (29-6) won its eighth in a row.

Umeh hit two free throws with 23.5 seconds left to give seventh-seeded UNLV a 65-61 lead. Joel Anthony then blocked a drive by Andre Crittenton.

Umeh hit 4-of-8 3-pointers, while White hit 8-of-12 shots and grabbed eight rebounds.

Anthony Morrow and Alade Aminu scored 11 each for Georgia Tech (20-12).

This wasn't the sort of performance that would spark memories of the UNLV team that won it all in 1990 with Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony. Nor did anyone conjure any images of Michael Jordan, who watched this Midwest Regional matchup from a suite.

The Runnin' Rebels were just 19-for-60 from the field, and Georgia Tech wasn't much better at 25-of-61.

Kevin Kruger, the coach's son who transferred in and helped spark UNLV's turnaround, missed all of eight of his shots and finished with five points. He wasn't the only one to struggle.

Crittenton missed his first four shots and finished with eight points, and the freshman committed a key turnover in the closing minute when he got called for a five-second violation.

That ultimately led to two free throws by Gaston Essengue that made it 63-59 with 36.6 seconds left. Crittenton found Zach Peacock inside for a basket, before Umeh's two free throws.

UNLV beat Georgia Tech in the 1990 Final Four on the way to the championship. Both programs endured down periods in the interim.

Georgia Tech reached the Final Four in 2005 but missed the postseason last year. The Yellow Jackets were 13-8 after a four-game losing streak in late January, and there was speculation that coach Paul Hewitt's job was in jeopardy.

They turned it around in the final month, though, winning seven of the final nine regular-season games before losing in double overtime to Wake Forest in the ACC tournament.

UNLV's troubles are well-documented.

The Runnin' Rebels beat Seton Hall in the 1991 West regional final, before the program crumbled under the weight of NCAA investigations. And they made just two NCAA appearances between now and then, losing to Tulsa in the first round in 2000.

After winning 17 games in each of Kruger's first two seasons, the Runnin' Rebels sprinted back into the spotlight this season and restored some of the glitter. The coach's son gave the program a boost when he took advantage of a rule that allowed him to play immediately after transferring from Arizona State and wound up averaging 13.6 points.

The elder Kruger became the fifth coach to lead four teams to the NCAA — he'd previously won with Kansas State, Florida and Illinois.