Men's Basketball 3/2/2026 3:51:00 PM

Senior Night Is Tuesday Against Mountain-West Leading Utah State

Promos for UNLV men's basketball game include free T-Shirts and Runnin' Rebel Happy Hour with $4 beers before the 8 p.m. game at Thomas & Mack Center.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team will celebrate Senior Night before its regular-season home finale against Mountain West-leading Utah State on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV (15-14, 10-8) is coming off a thrilling 85-83 overtime win at home over intrastate rival UNR on Saturday. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 42 points in the contest, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 33.4 seconds remaining in regulation, and Tyrin Jones made the game-winning basket with 8.1 seconds left in overtime.

Gibbs-Lawhorn, who was named this week's Old Trapper Mountain West Men's Basketball Player of the Week (third time this season), has scored 20-plus points in nine straight games. Over that span, he has averaged 29.7 ppg, which includes 30-plus point outings in four of his last five games.

The Runnin' Rebels are averaging 79.6 points per game and have five players averaging 8.6 points per game or more: Gibbs-Lawhorn (21.0 ppg, 1st in MW/18th in NCAA), Kimani Hamilton (12.3 ppg), Tyrin Jones (11.3 ppg), Howie Fleming Jr. (9.2 ppg), and Issac Williamson (8.6 ppg). Fleming Jr. leads the team in rebounds at 6.0 rpg (5th in MW) and assists at 3.6 apg (7th in MW). Gibbs-Lawhorn is the team's steals leader at 1.6 spg (5th in MW), while Jones leads in blocks at 2.0 bpg (1st in MW/25th in NCAA).

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 291-201 (.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 UTAH STATE: The Aggies (24-5, 14-4) have won nine of their last 11 since suffering a home loss to UNLV on Jan. 20, but they have dropped two of their last three: loss at UNR (80-77) on Feb. 21, loss at San Diego State (89-72)on Feb. 25, win vs. Grand Canyon (74-69) on Saturday. Utah State is led in scoring by MJ Collins with 17.8 ppg (4th in MW), while Mason Falslev is right behind at 15.8 ppg (8th in MW). The team is led in rebounding by Nana Owusu-Anane (8.6 rpg, 3rd in MW), while Drake Allen is the assists leader (4.6 apg, 4th in MW). Allen and Falslev are No. 1 and 2 in the league in steals with 2.00 and 1.97 steals per game, respectively. The Aggies rank 10th in the country in field goal percentage at 50.5%, 13th in turnover margin (3.6), and 18th in scoring margin (13.5). Utah State is 7-4 in true road games this season. USU was picked to finish second in the Mountain West's preseason poll, with Falslev named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-MW team. Utah State's 15-man roster is made up of nine upperclassmen. The Aggies went 26-8 overall last season, finishing third in the Mountain West at 15-5. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to UCLA. Head coach Jerrod Calhoun is in his second season at the school with a record of 50-13 (.794), and is in his 14th year overall as a collegiate head coach with a career mark of 292-156 (.652).

LAST TIME VS. UTAH STATE: In this season's first meeting between the two teams in Logan, Utah, on Jan. 20, UNLV won 86-76, which was Utah State's only home loss this season. The Runnin' Rebels came back from 14 points down in the second half to pull off the upset. Five UNLV players scored in double figures, led by Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn's 21 points and Tyrin Jones' career high of 20. The Aggies also had five players score in double figures, led by Mason Falslev's 21 points and six rebounds. It marked UNLV's first win at Utah State since 2016. UNLV entered the game having lost eight of its last nine overall to Utah State. Tied 38-38 at halftime, Utah State opened the second half with a 20-6 run to take a 58-44 lead with 12:44 to go. UNLV fought back, eventually taking a 66-65 lead with 5:53 to play. The Runnin' Rebels closed the game on a 13-3 run over the final 2:52 as they made six of eight field goals during that stretch. UNLV shot 57.1% from the field in the second half (16 of 28), made 7 of 14 3-pointers for the game (50%), and connected on 21 of 25 free throws for the game (84.0%).

PROMOTIONS: The Runnin' Rebels will celebrate Senior Night against Utah State on Tuesday in their regular-season home finale. Fans who arrive early will be given a free T-Shirt courtesy of Valley Bank of Nevada (while supplies last). In addition, fans 21+ can enjoy Runnin' Happy Hour with $4 domestic draft beers available at select concessions stands before the game.

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: Tuesday night's game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent and Mike O'Donnell calling the action. The radio broadcast may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/SiriusXM 381 with Matt Neverett, Curtis Terry, 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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