Men's Basketball 2/20/2026 1:39:00 PM

Runnin' Rebels Travel To Air Force For Saturday Afternoon Game

UNLV looking for sixth straight win over the Falcons at 1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to play at Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT. The Runnin' Rebels (13-13, 8-7) have won five straight games against the Falcons, and are looking for a regular-season sweep. The game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and ESPN Radio Las Vegas.

UNLV had its three-game win streak snapped with a home loss to Colorado State (91-86) on Wednesday night. The three-game streak consisted of home wins over Grand Canyon (80-78) on Feb. 7 and San Jose State (82-75) on Feb. 10, along with a road victory at Boise State in overtime (86-83) on Feb. 13 in which UNLV came back from 23 points down.

In his last outing, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 30-plus points for the second straight game and increased his 20-plus scoring games streak to six in a row as he scored 31 in the setback against the Rams. The Runnin' Rebels led by as many as 16 points against the Antelopes, with Gibbs-Lawhorn leading the way by scoring a game-high 29 points. Against the Spartans, UNLV led by as many as 13. Gibbs-Lawhorn and Kimani Hamilton combined for 47 points in that game, with Gibbs-Lawhorn again leading the way with 24. Against the Broncos, Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 36 points. He was named this week's Old Trapper Mountain West Men's Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 30 points per game in two contests last week.

The Runnin' Rebels are averaging 79.5 points per game and have five players averaging 9.1 points per game or more: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (19.9 ppg, 1st in MW), Kimani Hamilton (12.3 ppg), Tyrin Jones (11.2 ppg), Issac Williamson (9.6 ppg), and Howie Fleming Jr. (9.1 ppg). Fleming Jr. leads the team in rebounds at 5.6 rpg (6th in MW) and assists at 3.2 apg. Gibbs-Lawhorn is the team's steals leader at 1.6 spg (6th in MW), while Jones leads in blocks at 2.0 bpg (1st in MW, 24th nationally).

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 289-200 (.591).

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 (3-23, 0-15) have lost 19 in a row and are coming off a 98-61 road loss at New Mexico on Tuesday. Air Force has three players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Lucas Hobin's 11.8 ppg. Eli Robinson is the team's leading rebounder at 5.0 rpg, while Kam Sanders leads in assists with 3.6 apg (7th in MW). The Falcons are 3-12 at home this season. 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. Interim head coach Jon Jordan has led the team over the last nine games. He is in his ninth season at the academy.

LAST TIME VS. AIR FORCE: In this season's earlier meeting between UNLV and Air Force on Jan. 3 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, the Runnin' Rebels won 67-39. UNLV had four players score in double figures, led by Tyrin Jones' 14 points. Howie Fleming Jr. had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Falcons were led by Lucas Hobin and Caleb Walker with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Runnin' Rebels led 6-0 after the first three minutes of the game and held an 8-6 lead with 12:19 left in the first half. UNLV used a 10-0 run over a two-minute span to create some separation, leading by 12 halfway through the first half. The Runnin' Rebels led by as many as 16 points over the first 20 minutes and took a 35-20 lead into the break. UNLV started the second half with a 10-0 spurt to take a 25-point advantage and never looked back. With the Runnin' Rebels holding Air Force to just 39 points, it marked the first time they have held a Division I opponent to under 40 since 2010 in a 70-39 win vs. Colorado State. UNLV held Air Force to just 25.8% shooting in the second half (8 of 31), including 15.4% on 3-pointers (2 of 13). The Falcons finished the game at a 27.8% from the floor (15 of 54), which is a UNLV opponent season low, and 15.8% on 3-pointers (3 of 19).

BROADCAST INFO: Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network with Josh Howe and Geoff Bennett calling the action. The radio broadcast may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM with Matt Neverett and Curtis Terry on the call. All streaming links and live stats are available at UNLVRebels.com and through the UNLV Rebels App.

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