Men's Basketball 1/2/2026 12:17:00 PM

Runnin' Rebels Resume Mountain West Play On Saturday Against Air Force

Game scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center; UNLV looking to improve to 2-0 in conference.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team, winner of two straight games and three of its last four, will return to Mountain West play on Saturday, Jan. 3, hosting Air Force at 2 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Runnin' Rebels (6-6, 1-0) closed out non-conference play on Monday night with an 89-47 home win over La Sierra. Four UNLV players scored in double figures in that contest, led by Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn's 19 points. It also marked just the fourth game in December for the Runnin' Rebels.

Prior to that, UNLV opened MW play with an 84-72 win over Fresno State on Dec. 20, which was its first game in the Thomas & Mack Center in a 30-day span, in part because of the arena hosting the National Finals Rodeo. In the win over the Bulldogs, 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, which led to his first MW Freshman of the Week honor. 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 Jones made all seven of his field-goal attempts.

For the season, the Runnin' Rebels are averaging 81.8 points per game and have five players averaging 9.1 or more ppg: Gibbs-Lawhorn (17.3), Hamilton (13.2 ppg), Issac Williamson (10.8 ppg), Jones (10.5 ppg), and Howie Fleming Jr. (9.1 ppg). Jacob Bannarbie and Emmanuel Stephen are tied for the lead in rebounds per game with 6.5, while Fleming Jr. is the team's assist leader at 3.2 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 282-193 (.594).

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 AIR FORCE: The Falcons (3-10, 0-2) come to Las Vegas having lost six in a row, including their two MW contests: at San Diego State, 81-58, on Dec. 17, and vs. Wyoming, 68-56, on Tuesday. Air Force has four players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Kam Sanders' 12.5 ppg. Eli Robinson is the team's leading rebounder at 6.2 rpg, while Sanders also leads in assists with 3.4 apg. The Falcons are 0-3 in true road games this season. Caleb Walker ranks second in the country in field goal percentage at 72.2%. The Falcons were picked to finish 12th in the Mountain West's preseason poll. Air Force's 16-man roster is made up of just four upperclassmen. The Falcons went 4-28 overall last season, finishing 11th in the MW at 1-19. Head coach Joe Scott is in his 10th season at the school with a record of 97-179 (.351) and is in his 22nd season overall as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 281-356 (.441).

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 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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