Men's Basketball 12/28/2025 9:45:00 AM

Runnin' Rebels To Play Season's Final Non-Conference Game Monday Night At TMC

UNLV hosts La Sierra at 7 p.m. in its fourth and final game of December.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, winner of two of its last three games, will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 29, for its final non-conference game of the 2025-26 season, at 7 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center vs. La Sierra, a NAIA school from Riverside, California, that plays in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference.

The Runnin' Rebels (5-6, 1-0) have returned from the holiday break after defeating Fresno State, 84-72, in their Mountain West opener on Dec. 20. That marked UNLV's first game in the Thomas & Mack Center in a 30-day span, in part because of the arena hosting the National Finals Rodeo.

The game against the Golden Eagles is just the fourth for the Runnin' Rebels in the month of December.

In UNLV's win over Fresno State, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 28 points, Kimani Hamilton scored 16 of his 20 in the second half, and Tyrin Jones scored a career-high 18. Gibbs-Lawhorn was 9 of 15 from the field, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers; Hamilton was 7 of 10 from the field, and Tyrin Jones made all seven of his field-goal attempts.

For the season, the Runnin' Rebels are averaging 81.2 points per game and have five players averaging 8.9 or more ppg: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (17.2), Kimani Hamilton (13.5 ppg), Issac Williamson (11.1 ppg), Tyrin Jones (10.1 ppg), and Howie Fleming Jr. (8.9 ppg). Emmanuel Stephen leads in rebounding with 6.0 rpg, while Howie Fleming Jr. is the team's assist leader at 2.9 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 281-193 (.593).

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 LA SIERRA: The Golden Eagles (7-6, 0-3) have played two other Division I teams so far this season: a 90-49 loss at UC Riverside on Nov. 3 and an 88-53 loss at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 19. La Sierra comes to Las Vegas having lost its last two games: vs. Occidental College (80-51) on Dec. 17 and at Cal State Northridge. Jasper Reinalda leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.2 ppg and 12.6 rpg. The Golden Eagles' 15-man roster is made up of 12 upperclassmen. La Sierra went 6-22 overall last season, finishing with a 5-5 mark in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference. Ethan Lowe is the Golden Eagles' head coach, and he is assisted by Brandhon Thomas and David Odinigwe.

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: Monday'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 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.

Print Friendly Version

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