Men's Basketball 12/19/2025 9:25:00 AM

Runnin' Rebels To Open Mountain West Play Saturday At Home

UNLV returns to the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time in 30 days to host Fresno State at 4 p.m.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - For the first time in 30 days, the UNLV men's basketball team will play a home game at the Thomas & Mack Center as the Runnin' Rebels will open Mountain West play on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. vs. Fresno State.

UNLV is coming off a 63-60 loss to Tennessee State last Saturday in the Jack Jones Classic at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson. Prior to that, the Runnin' Rebels won 75-74 at Stanford on Dec. 7.

In the win against the Cardinal, 7-foot center Emmanuel Stephen made his UNLV debut after returning from injury, with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. With that performance, Stephen became the first Mountain West player with a double-double in a road game against an ACC school since future NBA No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennet did so for UNLV at North Carolina in December 2012.

Prior to the game at Stanford, the Runnin' Rebels played in the Players Era Men's Championship in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob ULTRA Arena from Nov. 24-27, losing three contests to Maryland (74-67), then-No. 8 Alabama (115-76), and Rutgers (80-65).

The Runnin' Rebels entered that event on a two-game win streak, consisting of a road victory at Memphis (92-78) on Nov. 16, and a home win at the Thomas & Mack Center over Saint Joseph's (99-85) on Nov. 20. Prior to the Players Era event, UNLV had scored 92 points or more in each of its previous four games, winning three of them.

For the season, the Runnin' Rebels are averaging 80.9 points per game and have five players averaging 9.3 or more ppg: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (16.1), Kimani Hamilton (12.9 ppg), Issac Williamson (12.3 ppg), Emmanuel Stephen (11.0 ppg), and Tyrin Jones (9.3 ppg). Stephen leads in rebounding with 7.5 rpg, while Howie Fleming Jr. is the team's assist leader at 2.8 apg.

The Runnin' Rebels are in their first year under head coach Josh Pastner. Although new to UNLV, he is in his 15th year as a collegiate head coach, having previously led Memphis and Georgia Tech for seven seasons each. He holds a career record of 280-193 (.592).

UNLV's roster has only one returning player, Jacob Bannarbie, and has welcomed 13 new faces. The newcomers include eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen.

MORE ABOUT THE ROSTER: This season's UNLV squad, which has had to deal with a rash of injuries, returned just one player from 2024-25: redshirt sophomore forward Jacob Bannarbie. The 2025-26 roster added 13 newcomers - eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen. The team features four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen, with a position breakdown of seven guards, six forwards, and a center. Last season, Bannarbie appeared in 19 games (three starts), averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.6 minutes, and shooting 52.9% from the field on 17 attempts.

ABOUT FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs (6-5) has wins over Fresno Pacific (88-51), Long Beach State (82-62), Utah Valley (75-74), Stephen F. Austin (80-78), New Orleans (85-76), and Pepperdine (76-53), while their losses are to USC Upstate (67-66), UC San Diego (78-73), CSU Bakersfield (76-71), then-No. 25/23 Arkansas (82-58), and Cal State Northridge (89-87). Fresno State enters Saturday's game on a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs have three players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Jake Heidbreder's 18.5 ppg. Wilson Jacques is the team's leading rebounder at 7.4 rpg, while Zaon Collins leads in assists with 5.1 apg. They rank 24th in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, limiting their opponents to just 27.8% from 3-point range. Fresno State was picked to finish 11th in the Mountain West's preseason poll. The Bulldogs' 15-man roster is made up of just five upperclassmen. Fresno State went 6-26 overall last season, finishing 10th in the MW at 2-18. Head coach Vance Walberg is in his second season at the school with a record of 12-31 (.279) and is in his fourth season overall as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 26-66 (.283).

PROMOTIONS: The holiday spirit will be in full force on Saturday with the opportunity to get a free photo with Santa before the game, purchase hot chocolate, and see a large menorah on the concourse.

TICKETS: Tickets to UNLV men's basketball home games may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-FANS (3267) or by visiting the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office.

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network with Matt Neverett and Curtis Terry calling the action. The radio broadcast may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM and on SiriusXM 380 with Tim Neverett and Steve Cofield on the call. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Jacob Bannarbie: F; 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

#34 Emmanuel Stephen: C; 7' 0"; Sophomore

#0 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#3 Howie Fleming Jr.: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#12 Issac Williamson: G; 6' 0"; Freshman

#6 Tyrin Jones: F; 6' 9"; Freshman

#2 Kimani Hamilton: F; 6' 8"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#12 Jacob Bannarbie
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#34 Emmanuel Stephen
: 7' 0"; Sophomore
: C

#0 Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#3 Howie Fleming Jr.
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#12 Issac Williamson
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: G

#6 Tyrin Jones
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: F

#2 Kimani Hamilton
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F