Men's Basketball 3/5/2026 11:30:00 AM

Runnin' Rebels At San Diego State Friday Night For Regular-Season Finale

UNLV men's basketball has won six of its last eight; 7 p.m. game to be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball team will travel to San Diego for its regular-season finale to face San Diego State on Friday, March 6. The 7 p.m. game at Viejas Arena will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network

UNLV (16-14, 11-8) has won two straight games and six of its last eight. The two-game win streak consists of a thrilling 85-83 overtime win at home over intrastate rival UNR last Saturday in which Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a career-high 42 points, 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. On Tuesday night, the Runnin' Rebels dominated Mountain West-leading Utah State, 92-65, at home, for their fourth Quad 1 win of the season. In that contest, Howie Fleming Jr. recorded his second triple-double in a 10-day span with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists, while Kimani Hamilton (24 points) and Tyrin Jones (17 points) combined to score 41.

Gibbs-Lawhorn, who was named this week's Old Trapper Mountain West Men's Basketball Player of the Week (third time this season), had his streak of nine-straight games with 20-plus points snapped as he scored 10 against the Aggies on Tuesday. During that nine-game stretch from Jan. 30 to Feb. 28, he averaged 29.7 ppg, which included 30-plus point outings in four of five games.

The Runnin' Rebels are averaging 80.0 points per game and have five players averaging 8.9 points per game or more: Gibbs-Lawhorn (20.6 ppg, 1st in MW/22nd in NCAA), Kimani Hamilton (12.7 ppg), Tyrin Jones (11.5 ppg), Howie Fleming Jr. (9.3 ppg), and Issac Williamson (8.9 ppg). Fleming Jr. leads the team in rebounds at 6.2 rpg (5th in MW) and assists at 3.9 apg (6th 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/26th 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 292-201 (.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 SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs (19-10, 13-6) have lost two straight and four of their last five games. Their two-game skid consists of road losses at New Mexico last Saturday (81-76) and at Boise State on Tuesday (86-77). The Aztecs are led in scoring by Reese Dixon-Waters (13.0 ppg), while Miles Heide is the team's leading rebounder (4.6 rpg). Taj DeGourville leads the team in assists at 2.9 apg, and Miles Byrd is the team's steals (1.9 spg) and blocks (1.1 bpg) leader. The Aztecs rank third in the country in bench points per game at 35.8, 18th in field-goal percentage defense at 39.9, and 18th in turnovers forced per game (14.8). San Diego State is 13-2 at home this season. The Aztecs were picked to win the league this season in the Mountain West's preseason poll, with Byrd, Dixon-Waters, and Magoon Gwath selected to the Preseason All-MW Team, while Byrd was named the Preseason Player of the Year, and Elzie Harrington was selected as the Preseason Freshman of the Year. San Diego State's 15-man roster is made up of eight upperclassmen. The Aztecs went 21-10 overall last season, finishing tied for fourth in the Mountain West at 14-6. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to North Carolina. Head coach Brian Dutcher is in his ninth season at the school with a career record of 217-78 (.736).

LAST TIME VS. SAN DIEGO STATE: In this season's first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas, SDSU won 82-71, snapping UNLV's five-game home win streak. The Aztecs were led by Miles Byrd's 23 points, five assists, and four steals. He shot 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 of 5 on 3-pointers, and made all four of his free throw attempts. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led the Runnin' Rebels with a game-high 27 points, while Kimani Hamilton added 12 and Tyrin Jones contributed 10. Emmanuel Stephen collected a game-high-tying seven rebounds. San Diego State made 8 of 13 3-pointers (61.5%) and connected on 22 of 26 free throws (84.6%). In addition, the Aztecs' bench outscored UNLV's 29-11.

BROADCAST INFO: Friday night's game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Pete Gillen calling the action. The radio broadcast may be heard on ESPN Radio 1100 AM/SiriusXM 384 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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