LAS VEGAS — UNLV didn’t need Tuesday night to be fast to win. It needed to be clean.

That was the premise entering its lone regular-season meeting with New Mexico. Against a Lobos team designed to punish hesitation, the margin wasn’t going to be pace or emotion; it was possession value. Missed opportunities wouldn’t stay neutral. They would accumulate.

They did almost immediately.

New Mexico turned UNLV’s empty possessions into rhythm, confidence, and ultimately separation, rolling to an 89-61 win that was effectively decided long before halftime. The Lobos led for nearly the entire game, controlled the glass, dictated spacing, and exposed how thin UNLV’s current margin really is.

“Credit to New Mexico,” Josh Pastner said afterward. “We got our butts kicked. Bottom line.”

It wasn’t coach-speak. It was a diagnosis.

The Game Was Lost Before It Had a Shape

UNLV won the opening tip and unraveled almost instantly.

The first six minutes featured the same warning signs Pastner had flagged days earlier: rushed reads, late passes, and possessions that ended without purpose. Three early turnovers prevented the Rebels from establishing any offensive rhythm, and New Mexico calmly converted those mistakes into paint touches and transition scores.

There was no early run. No dramatic swing. Just quiet control.

By the first media timeout, New Mexico had already imposed its identity. UNLV, meanwhile, looked unsure of where advantages would come from and tried to force them.

That’s where the night tilted.

UNLV finished the first half with 11 turnovers, many unforced. Not pressure turnovers. Not gambles gone wrong. Simple execution errors: passes thrown late, cuts mistimed, spacing compressed.

“I thought we were selfish in the first half,” Pastner said. “The ball stuck. It wasn’t moving.”

That word wasn’t about effort. It was about trust. When the offense stalled, individuals tried to solve problems alone. New Mexico thrives in those moments.

By halftime, UNLV trailed 41-22, shooting under 30 percent from the floor. The game hadn’t sped up. It had simply slipped away.

Empty Possessions, Exactly as Forecasted

This game unfolded exactly how Pastner warned it could.

UNLV can survive missed threes.
It cannot survive:

• missed free throws
• missed layups through contact
• one-shot possessions
• turnovers that fuel opponent’s rhythm

All four showed up.

UNLV finished with 16 turnovers, many leading directly to New Mexico runouts or second-chance sequences. Even when the Rebels forced stops, they struggled to finish possessions, allowing offensive rebounds that reset New Mexico’s spacing and patience.

“We let our offensive errors affect our defensive intensity,” Pastner said. “And that bit us.”

New Mexico doesn’t need your defense to collapse. It just needs two or three lapses per half. One missed box-out. One late closeout. One broken scramble.

Those lapses turned zeros into threes and threes into separation.

Tomislav Buljan Changed the Geometry

Tomislav Buljan was the hinge that turned UNLV’s mistakes into inevitability.

The Mountain West’s leading rebounder finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but his impact went beyond the box score. Buljan erased second chances on one end and extended possessions on the other, bending the floor until defensive discipline broke.

When UNLV collapsed, New Mexico kicked out. The Lobos shot 10-of-24 from three (42%), many of them clean looks created after UNLV failed to finish defensive sequences.

That was the difference.

A Game Without a Quarterback

UNLV’s margin narrowed even further when Tyrin Jones exited on the opening possession with a shoulder injury, the same shoulder he had previously separated.

“Losing him hurt us,” Pastner said. “He’s a key guy.”

Without a natural point guard on the roster, the offense has leaned heavily on Darrion Gibbs-Lawhorn, who continues to grow into the role but is being asked to create more than originally planned.

“Dra is our only point guard,” Pastner said. “That’s just the reality.”

When New Mexico denied the middle and congested space, UNLV was forced into slower, more deliberate sets, the opposite of how Pastner wants this team to live.

“We haven’t been the Running Rebels the last two games,” he said. “We just haven’t been running.”

Without stops, without rim protection, without clean outlets, UNLV can’t play in strike mode. And when it can’t, the offense shrinks.

Second Half: Better Intentions, Same Outcome

UNLV played more unselfishly after halftime. The ball moved better. The cuts came earlier. The effort improved.

But the margin was already structural.

New Mexico continued to control the glass, knocking down timely shots whenever UNLV threatened a brief push. A second-chance three midway through the half pushed the lead past 20 and removed any remaining ambiguity.

“From an offensive standpoint, we were just too far behind,” Pastner admitted.

Effort alone doesn’t move the needle against a team this organized.

Accountability, Not Excuses

Isaac Williamson didn’t search for explanations.

“They were scrappy defensively, but it’s no excuse for us,” he said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball.”

Asked about the team’s season-long volatility, his answer was blunt.

“We’re not consistent. That’s pretty much all it is.”

There was no hint of locker-room fracture.

“Everyone comes to practice. Everyone shows up. It’s just inconsistent when it comes to being on the court.”

Against a team like New Mexico, inconsistency becomes separation.

Home Court, Context, and Consequence

The loss landed heavier because of timing. One night after Pastner openly challenged fan engagement, UNLV delivered its worst home performance of conference play.

He didn’t dodge it. “It’s our responsibility to earn the fans’ trust back,” Pastner said. “You’ve got to win home games.”

There were no excuses offered, and he owned it. “It starts with me. I’m the head coach. We can’t hide or run from it.”

What It Means

This loss didn’t reveal something new.
It confirmed something uncomfortable.

UNLV doesn’t get beat by pace. It gets beat when pressure doesn’t turn into points, when toughness doesn’t turn into rebounds, and when possessions end empty.

Against a team like New Mexico, those zeros don’t stay neutral. They become threes, runouts, and extended possessions on the other end.

There’s no time to sit with it. UNLV heads to Reno in 72 hours for another test of resilience.

Pastner framed it as a character check.

“Your toughness will be tested; not just the four letters on the front of the jersey, but the name on the back too.”

Tuesday night didn’t come down to effort windows or shooting luck.

It came down to whether UNLV’s identity exists beyond intention.

New Mexico answered that question decisively.

Friday demands a response.