Naas Cunningham
69
Chattanooga UTC 1-2,0-0 SoCon
101
Winner UNLV UNLV 1-1,0-0 Mountain West
Chattanooga UTC
1-2,0-0 SoCon
69
Final
101
UNLV UNLV
1-1,0-0 Mountain West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Chattanooga UTC 36 33 69
UNLV UNLV 47 54 101

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Rebels Run Away From Chattanooga 101-69 For Pastner's First UNLV Win

Five Runnin' Rebels scored in double figures as the team scored more than 100 points for the first time since 2017 in Saturday's victory at the Thomas & Mack Center.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team (1-1) ran away from Chattanooga (1-2) 101-69 on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center to give new Runnin' Rebel head coach Josh Pastner his first victory at the school.

Five Runnin' Rebels scored in double figures as the squad tallied more than 100 points for the first time in eight years (101-82 vs. Southern Utah on Nov. 25, 2017).

Naas Cummingham led UNLV in scoring with a game-high 25 points, while Kimani Hamilton added 19 with a game-high nine rebounds. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Howie Fleming Jr. each contributed 13 points, while Jacob Bannarbie chipped in 10.

The Mocs were led by Teddy Washington Jr.'s 18 points, while Jordan Frison scored 13.

SHORTHANDED BECAUSE OF INJURIES: UNLV was again without four scholarship players because of injury: Mason Abittan, Myles Che, Emmanuel Stephen, and Issac Williamson.

RAN AWAY WITH IT: UNLV led 47-36 at halftime, then outscored Chattanooga 54-33 in the second half thanks to a 57.6% shooting performance over the final 20 minutes of play. The Runnin' Rebels led by as many as 32 points with under 30 seconds to go.

STATS OF THE GAME: UNLV outrebounded Chattanooga (42-20), committed just eight turnovers, led in points in the paint (46-28), and led in bench scoring (42-25). Additionally, UNLV grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, converting those into 22 second-chance points, and recorded 23 assists on 33 made field goals (69.7%).

QUOTABLE: "That's what we've got to do every time we step on the floor, just continue to get better. Sitting in my chair, for our staff and for the fans and everybody, you want to see your team continue to improve. Obviously, that doesn't guarantee wins, losses, in either direction, but you can see improvement when your team gets better. I thought we had two good days of practice. We cleaned some things up that needed to be cleaned up, and we executed the game plan. We were fortunate to get a great win tonight playing the right way." - UNLV head coach Josh Pastner

OTHER NOTES: 
- UNLV shot 55.9% from the field for the game, while Chattanooga converted on 45.3%.
- Fleming Jr. had a game-high six assists with just one turnover, while Al Green had four assists with zero turnovers.
- UNLV shot 22 more free throws than Chattanooga did, outscoring the Mocs at the free-throw line by 15 points (27-12).
- Cunningham was 8 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
- Bannarbie made all five of his field-goal attempts.
- There were five lead changes and three ties before UNLV took the lead for good with 8:37 left in the first half.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,262 straight games.

NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will conclude its season-opening three-game homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as it hosts Montana at the Thomas & Mack Center at 7 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets may be purchased online at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or in person at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office. Season tickets are on sale now. Single-game tickets for Tuesday's game start at just $11.



 
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