UNLV coasts to easy home win, evens record

It was a matter-of-fact win for UNLV on Monday night at Thomas &Mack Center.

The Rebels (6-6) got off to a fast start and coasted to the end of an 89-47 victory over NAIA opponent La Sierra at the Thomas &Mack Center on Monday night.

“We were supposed to take care of business and we did,” coach Josh Pastner said.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 12 of his game-high 19 points during a 21-0 run to start the game.

He added three assists and five steals while going 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, though he did turn the ball over six times.

The rest of the lineup struggled shooting the ball as UNLV finished just 6-for-25 from beyond-the-arc, but the Rebels forced 24 turnovers and outscored the Golden Eagles (7-7) 34-5 off of those mistakes.

Howie Fleming Jr. gave Pastner what he called a “stat-sheet stuffing” performance, posting 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.

UNLV returns to Mountain West play against Air Force (3-9, 0-1 Mountain West) at the Thomas &Mack Center on Saturday. The Rebels are 1-0 in conference play.

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

1. Fast start

UNLV made major changes to its starting lineup for the conference opener against Fresno State and the group played well.

They went with the same lineup Monday with Fleming, Tyrin Jones and Jacob Bannarbie joining Gibbs-Lawhorn and Kimani Hamilton, the only two players to start all 12 games this season.

The result was a 21-0 run to open the game as the Rebels were particularly dominant on the defensive end during that stretch.

La Sierra was 0 for 6 from the field with seven turnovers by the time it got on the board for the first time with a pair of free throws.

The Golden Eagles did not make their first shot from the field until a long 3-pointer by Mateo Hamilton 7:43 into the game made the score 23-5.

“I thought defensively we did some good stuff there, especially with our ball pressure,” Pastner said. “The first 15 or 16 minutes we were at a high level.”

Gibbs-Lawhorn already had 12 points by then.

2. Playing hurt

Pastner’s first season on the UNLV sideline has been plagued by a seemingly endless string of injuries.

His own status was even in question Monday as he dealt with an illness.

“It was brutal the last two days,” he said after the win. “I was in rough shape. I spent a lot of time in the fetal position.

“But you’d probably have to cut my right leg off not to coach a game.”

Walter Brown wasn’t as fortunate as he did miss the game with an illness. Pastner said he expects him back Saturday.

“Part of it is just this time of year,” Pastner said. “People get sick. I tell guys all the time about hygiene. The best defense is washing your hands. I remind the guys constantly, but it’s part of being around people that viruses and flus go around. And when you have kids, they’re going to get sick at school and then you’re going to get sick.”

3. Why La Sierra?

The Rebels certainly weren’t challenged by the 1,500-student school from Riverside, California, as the Golden Eagles brought a roster that was overwhelmed from the start.

La Sierra wasn’t going to provide a real challenge or truly make UNLV work for a victory.

But the game did serve a purpose, including a nice experience for a group coached by Ethan Lowe. Pastner called the son of a longtime junior college coach “a good man who does a lot of good things” for the game.

It allowed the Rebels to ease their way back from the holiday break after playing one Mountain West game nine days ago with another coming up Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Falcons at the Thomas &Mack Center.

A scheduling quirk gave UNLV its conference bye early in the season and left a gaping hole on the slate that wasn’t easy to fill with so many Division I teams around the country already settling into conference play and even less willing to play a true road game.

“It gave us a good opportunity to play and get our rhythm back before we get back into conference play,” said Pastner, whose team had five days off before returning to practice this weekend. “It was a chance to play post-Christmas and get our wind back. It was a positive for us.”

Pastner greatly reduced his rotation against Fresno State, but he was able to get nine players at least 18 minutes of action against La Sierra.

“In a game like this, you get a chance to play everyone and that’s a good thing because everyone has to stay ready,” he said.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.