LAS VEGAS – Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn fouled out at Fresno State, leaving UNLV without its leading scorer as a five-point lead disappeared in the final seconds. Keeping him on the floor matters again Saturday against Grand Canyon, with freshman center Tyrin Jones still day-to-day.
“Tuesday was gut-wrenching. Brutal. No other way to describe it,” Pastner said.
UNLV scored 96 points, shot efficiently enough to win on almost any night and carried a five-point lead into the final seven seconds. None of it was enough. Fresno State erased the deficit, forced one final UNLV mistake and won 98-96 at the buzzer, extending the Rebels’ losing streak to four games.
“Time is ticking,” Pastner said.
Saturday’s matchup at the Thomas & Mack Center brings another opponent capable of turning UNLV’s fouls and giveaways into points. The Rebels have enough offense to compete. They need to keep the players who produce it on the floor and get through the possessions when a good shot is harder to find.
Howie Fleming Jr.’s 23 points and nine rebounds in Fresno showed that Gibbs-Lawhorn did have another productive player beside him. He made nine of 12 shots, while Hamilton and Issac Williamson each scored 14. Those contributions did not disappear because the last sequence went wrong. They establish that the Rebels can find points beyond the leading scorer, provided their available players reach the next offensive possession.
“I’m the first to admit it,” Pastner said.
“There’s a lot of times our teams look undisciplined.”
“It’s made it hard for me to watch,” Pastner said.
Grand Canyon is capable of making that weakness expensive. The Lopes hold a plus-4.6 rebounding margin and shoot better than 75% from the free-throw line. Giving them additional possessions or repeatedly sending them to the stripe allows a team already comfortable playing through physical games to build an advantage without needing an exceptional shooting performance.
UNLV enters 10-12 overall and 5-6 in the Mountain West, with 1,732 points scored and 1,733 allowed. That one-point difference does not mean every game has been close. Large wins and large losses have canceled each other out, leaving the Rebels with little season-long advantage from their scoring.
Grand Canyon arrives at 15-7 overall and 8-3 in conference with a plus-7.1 scoring margin. Its rebounding and free-throw shooting give the Lopes ways to score without depending on a hot night outside.
Grand Canyon allows 67.7 points per game and 40.7% shooting. Those season numbers cannot identify the coverage on a particular possession, but they establish that opponents have usually found scoring difficult. UNLV should expect to need more than one action to generate an opening. An initial drive that draws help can still be productive if the ball reaches the next player while the defender is moving.
Saturday tips at 1:30 p.m. Pacific on FOX. It is the programs’ first meeting as Mountain West opponents, giving UNLV no earlier conference matchup against this team to use as a direct comparison. Grand Canyon is 3-3 in true road games. The Thomas & Mack setting offers the Rebels an opportunity; it does not erase the demands of the matchup.
Gibbs-Lawhorn enters Saturday averaging 18 points while shooting 49.5% from the field, 37% from 3-point range and 80.7% from the free-throw line. His role has expanded beyond scoring because UNLV no longer has another natural point guard consistently available to organize the offense.
Gibbs-Lawhorn has to create without collecting the avoidable fouls that took him out in Fresno. When a second defender stops him, UNLV needs another player ready to receive the ball and continue the possession before the defense resets.
Kimani Hamilton can provide that second attack, and Fleming supplies secondary ballhandling. Their availability matters in a rotation already short on options. Emmanuel Stephen’s rim protection will be useful only for as long as he can stay out of foul trouble.
Tyrin Jones remains day-to-day, and his status continues to affect almost every part of Pastner’s rotation. The Rebels are better equipped defensively when Jones is available because he provides rim protection, rebounding and another physical presence that allows UNLV to defend without constantly bringing extra help toward the basket.
Jaden Henley enters averaging 17.1 points and 5.5 rebounds. Makaih Williams adds 13 points per game, and Nana Owusu-Anane leads the Lopes with 8.5 rebounds. Sending help toward Henley can leave Williams space to attack, while losing track of Owusu-Anane after the shot gives Grand Canyon another chance.
At the offensive end, Stephen and Bannarbie can help before the shot through their screening and positioning. A screen that delays the pursuing guard gives Gibbs-Lawhorn time to see whether the opposing big stays back. The screener then needs to become a target or create room for the next receiver. Those are possible ways to attack the coverage; they depend on the players reading what Grand Canyon actually gives them Saturday.
If Grand Canyon sends a second defender toward Gibbs-Lawhorn off a screen, the nearest outlet needs to be available before the two defenders close in. Fleming can take the next pass and attack while the defense is still recovering.
