PALO ALTO, Calif. – Kimani Hamilton had already missed two free throws Sunday when Stanford sent him to the line with 3.8 seconds remaining and the score tied. He missed another, then made the one UNLV needed.
Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie got off a runner before the horn, but it came off the rim. UNLV won 75-74 at Maples Pavilion.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and improved UNLV to 4-5. Stanford fell to 7-2 with its second home loss of the season.
Hamilton scored UNLV’s final three points and finished with 15 points and four steals. Emmanuel Stephen led the Rebels with 18 points and 10 rebounds in his season debut after missing the first eight games with an injury.
Stephen played 30 minutes and made eight of 13 shots while giving UNLV its first extended look at the 7-foot center in Josh Pastner’s offense. Jacob Bannarbie and Ladji Dembele also missed the game with injuries, making Stephen’s return more important against Stanford’s frontcourt.
The absences extended beyond the frontcourt. Howie Fleming Jr. missed the game with conjunctivitis, and Myles Che remained out with an injury. Pastner had Stephen available for the first time but still had to construct a rotation without several players who could rebound or help initiate the offense. Stephen started, and Tyrin Jones supplied 24 minutes off the bench.
Stephen’s return gave UNLV a scorer who did not need the team’s outside shooting to improve before he could contribute. He took all 13 attempts inside the arc. With the Rebels making three threes for the afternoon, his eight field goals supplied an interior source the Cardinal had to account for alongside Hamilton and Jones.
That was particularly valuable because UNLV was returning from a 10-day break following three losses at the Players Era Championship. Pastner had a different available group after that pause. Stephen’s first appearance gave the staff a game to examine, rather than another plan built around a center who had not yet played.
Stanford still controlled the offensive glass. The Cardinal outrebounded UNLV 46-34, grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and scored 26 second-chance points. Oskar Giltay finished with 14 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end.
Giltay’s nine offensive rebounds accounted for almost half of Stanford’s 20. He finished with nine points, two steals and two blocks, giving the Cardinal repeated opportunities even without leading its scoring. His work forced UNLV to defend again after it had already produced a missed shot.
Ryan Agarwal contributed a season-high 13 points off the bench, making three threes, while Benny Gealer also hit three on the way to 11 points. They supplied six of Stanford’s nine makes from outside. UNLV could limit Okorie’s field-goal percentage and still lose ground when another Cardinal retrieved a miss or found an outside shot.
Stanford’s reserves outscored UNLV’s 31-19. Agarwal and Giltay were the largest part of that production, giving coach Kyle Smith scoring and rebounds beyond his starting five. The Cardinal’s depth kept the game difficult for a UNLV rotation still dealing with multiple absences.
UNLV never solved that problem. It won because it scored inside on the other end and forced Stanford into enough mistakes to take back some of the possessions it lost on the glass.
The Rebels shot 48.3% and finished with a 48-28 advantage in paint scoring. Both teams shot 30% from 3-point range, but Stanford attempted 30 shots from deep compared with 10 for UNLV.
“We knew that for us to win, we were going to have to win in the combat zone,” Pastner said.
Stephen gave UNLV a reliable option there almost immediately. He scored 10 points before halftime, grabbed four offensive rebounds for the game and completed the first road double-double by a Mountain West player against an ACC opponent since Anthony Bennett did it for UNLV at North Carolina in December 2012.
Pastner credited the defense in his postgame assessment, after acknowledging Stanford’s advantage on the offensive glass and in second-chance points.
“Our guys made big plays late, but we won by getting stops.”
In the finish, Hamilton and Stephen supplied steals before Gibbs-Lawhorn went to the line. UNLV needed those interruptions because a missed Stanford shot had so often failed to end its possession.
UNLV made 25 of 48 attempts inside the arc. The Rebels did not need to match Stanford’s outside volume to remain close because Stephen, Hamilton and Jones were supplying finishes nearer the basket. Stanford could pursue second chances and make more threes without forcing UNLV to abandon the part of its offense that was working.
There were limits to that approach, too. Stephen made only two of five free throws, while Jones went five of eight. The two big men combined for 29 points, but six missed foul shots kept their interior production from producing more separation. Hamilton’s final trip would become another reminder that reaching the line and converting there are different tasks.
Stanford took its largest lead after a Ryan Agarwal 3-pointer and an Okorie free throw made it 31-22 with 6:25 remaining in the first half. UNLV closed the half on a 16-8 run, with Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn making a late 3-pointer before Stephen dunked just ahead of the buzzer.
That sent the Rebels into halftime trailing 39-38 despite Stanford’s 10 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.
Stephen put UNLV ahead for the first time 22 seconds into the second half, tipping in a Hamilton miss for a 40-39 lead. The Rebels had spent the first half chasing Stanford, and an offensive rebound from their returning center finally moved them in front. It was one of the few occasions when UNLV took advantage of the same second-chance work that had sustained the Cardinal.
Stanford answered the tip-in with an Okorie three. Neither team led by more than four after halftime, so Stephen’s first basket changed who was chasing without giving UNLV much space. The Cardinal continued to retrieve misses, forcing the Rebels to defend another attempt even when the initial shot did not fall.
Stephen also extended a late UNLV possession after Jones missed with 2:15 remaining. He recovered the ball, and Jones went back to the line moments later. The freshman made one of two to cut Stanford’s lead to 70-69. Stephen’s offensive rebound had kept the chance alive before the consecutive Cardinal turnovers shifted the final minutes.
Stephen’s first recovery after halftime and the late rebound following Jones’ miss were different plays with the same consequence: UNLV kept control when Stanford expected a stop. His steal later provided something the Rebels had struggled to earn through rebounding alone. The center’s return did not fix the defense, but it changed specific possessions at both ends.
Neither team led by more than four during the second half. Stanford continued extending possessions but shot 35.5% after halftime, and Hamilton’s layup gave UNLV a 63-60 lead with 6:14 remaining.
Stanford scored the next six points and eventually moved ahead 70-66 on two Jeremy Dent-Smith free throws with 3 minutes left. Tyrin Jones made three of four free throws across UNLV’s next two possessions to cut the deficit to one.
Stanford then committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions. UNLV gave the ball back after the first, but Hamilton stole Okorie’s pass with 1:26 left. Gibbs-Lawhorn split two free throws to tie the game before Stephen stole the ball from Chisom Okpara on Stanford’s next trip.
Gibbs-Lawhorn made two more free throws after Stephen’s steal, giving UNLV a 72-70 lead with 1:02 remaining.
Okorie entered the game averaging 21.4 points, tied for 12th nationally, and Stanford continued putting the ball in his hands despite his struggles against UNLV. He finished with 18 points but made four of 16 shots and committed two turnovers. Chisom Okpara committed six of Stanford’s 16 giveaways.
Inside the final minute, Okorie missed a layup, collected his own rebound and scored through a foul. The three-point play put Stanford back in front 73-72 and added another second-chance basket to a game filled with them.
Pastner called timeout, and Hamilton backed his defender into the paint before making a turnaround jumper with 30 seconds left. Okorie drew a foul at the other end and split two free throws with 17.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 74.
Hamilton attacked the basket on UNLV’s final possession and drew the foul that sent him to the line with 3.8 seconds remaining. UNLV was 15-for-25 from the line before his two attempts. Hamilton missed the first and made the second.
Okorie’s final runner did not fall.
The closing stops came from different players. Hamilton’s steal interrupted Stanford’s chance to protect a lead, while Stephen’s takeaway gave Gibbs-Lawhorn another opportunity at the line. The center’s return had been most visible through his scoring and rebounding, but his defensive play also affected the final exchange.
Hamilton tied his career high with four steals. Gibbs-Lawhorn and Al Green added two apiece as UNLV finished with 10. Those takeaways helped the Rebels recover possession without having to win another rebound, a valuable alternative on an afternoon when Stanford repeatedly retrieved its own misses.
That did not make UNLV’s overall ball security a strength. The Rebels committed 14 turnovers, and Stanford scored 17 points off them compared with UNLV’s 14 points from Cardinal giveaways. The decisive late steals had more immediate value than the full-game margin in that category would suggest. Their timing gave UNLV chances to retake the lead while there was still enough time to do it.
Jones helped make those chances possible by staying available without committing a foul in his 24 minutes. Stephen finished with four fouls, as did Hamilton and Issac Williamson. The freshman’s minutes gave Pastner another big man to use without losing that option to foul trouble during a close finish.
Green’s scoring was modest, three points in 13 minutes, but he collected four defensive rebounds and did not turn the ball over. Walter Brown grabbed two offensive rebounds in his starting assignment. Those contributions did not overcome Stanford’s overall advantage on the glass, but they supplied possessions from players outside the four double-figure scorers.
Okorie’s nine made free throws were half of his scoring total. UNLV had made his field-goal attempts difficult, but he continued earning chances at the line, including the trip that tied the score with 17.7 seconds remaining.
Naas Cunningham added five points in 21 minutes without a turnover. Alongside Green and Jones, he gave Pastner reserve minutes during a game in which four unavailable players had narrowed the rotation, helping UNLV reach the closing possessions with alternatives to its starters.
Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, and Jones added 11 off the bench. UNLV forced 16 turnovers and improved to 2-0 in true road games after also winning at Memphis.
UNLV next plays Tennessee State in Henderson on Saturday, Dec. 13.
