Basketball
The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels men’s basketball team finished out both 2025 and their non-conference schedule with a blowout win over the La Sierra Golden Eagles. UNLV won the game by a wide margin by a score of 89 – 47. This one was never close with the Rebels outscoring the Golden Eagles 49 – 19 in the first half. The win brings UNLV back up to .500 at 6 – 6. La Sierra drops to .500 at 6 – 6.
This was a game the Rebels were supposed to win against an NAIA school from Riverside, California, that plays in the Great Southwest Athletic Conference, but handled their business and came away with a win by a wide margin. Following the game, Rebels’ head coach Josh Pastner spoke to the media about the win.
“We were supposed to take care of business, and we did. We did a nice job on the glass, and we forced them into 24 turnovers,” Pastner said. “I thought defensively, with our ball pressure, we made it tough on the 7-foot-3 kid. Bottom line, we found a way to win, and it gave us a great opportunity to play everybody. That’s a really good thing for us because everyone has to stay ready. You just never know. It was a good win for us to close out 2025, but the rest of the way will be conference play starting on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Air Force.”
UNLV dominated La Sierra in all facets of the game. They out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 50 – 30 and forced 24 turnovers to just 11. They were particularly strong on the defensive side of the ball with 17 steals and 11 blocked shots. La Sierra was also held to just 28% shooting from the field. Their top player was Mateo Hamilton, who scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Junior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn once again led the team with 19 points, making 6 – 9 from the field, 3 – 4 from three, and 4 – 4 from the free throw line. He also dished out three assists, grabbed two rebounds, and came away with five steals and a block. Tyrin Jones also had a strong game, scoring 15 points in 18 minutes on 6 – 9 shooting. It was Jacob Bannarbie who led the team on the boards with 12 rebounds.
Next up for the Rebels are the Air Force Falcons on Saturday when UNLV gets back to their Mountain West Conference schedule.
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