LAS VEGAS — Josh Pastner did not try to sell a dream Monday. He did not talk around the Mountain West standings or pretend UNLV is playing for something it is not. He started where the fan base had been living since Saturday night, after an 85-83 overtime win over UNR brought the Thomas & Mack Center back to life.
“Obviously, it was a great win. I said it multiple times,” Pastner said. “The crowd was the MVP. Awesome energy in the building.”
The rivalry win gave UNLV the kind of jolt the program has been searching for, a night that reminded everyone what the Thomas & Mack Center can feel like when the crowd is loud, invested and fully bought in. Pastner said he heard that immediately after the buzzer, not only from people inside the program but from people around Las Vegas who had been waiting for a night like it.
“The amount of message I got was the same thing,” Pastner said. “We have not felt that excitement and energy in a long time. What a memorable game.”
The question now is what comes next. Utah State is next, the final week of the regular season has arrived, Mountain West tournament seeding remains unsettled and Senior Night is approaching. Pastner is trying to keep his team focused on the part it can still control, which is making sure UNLV reaches the conference tournament playing better basketball than it played in November.
“We wanna keep getting better and making sure that we’re headed in the right direction in time for conference tournament next week,” Pastner said. “There’s everyone’s playing for a lot, seeding and everything else and momentum.”
UNLV Is Playing for Seeding From Fourth to Eighth
Pastner was direct when asked about the final week of the regular season. UNLV is not competing for the Mountain West championship, and the Rebels are not sitting in position for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. He did not pretend otherwise.
“I wish we were playing for the league championship right now and playing for an at large, you know,” Pastner said. “But we’re not in that situation right now today.”
That leaves UNLV with two goals that still matter. The Rebels can improve their place in the Mountain West tournament bracket, and they can continue building toward the version of themselves they will need once the season becomes single elimination.
“Our goal right now is to try to improve our seeding where we’re at,” Pastner said. “And then secondly, keep getting better and moving in the right direction, to be ready for conference tournament next week.”
The range remains wide. Pastner said UNLV could still finish anywhere from fourth to eighth, but the Rebels do not completely control where they land because other results around the conference will be part of the equation.
“We don’t control it in our own destiny,” Pastner said. “Anywhere from, really, from 4 to 8 … you’re really playing for seeding at this point and momentum heading into the next week’s conference tournament.”
That makes the final week important even without a league championship at stake. Every position UNLV can gain changes the path it may have to navigate in Las Vegas, and after spending much of the season trying to find consistency, the Rebels still have an opportunity to enter the tournament playing their best basketball.
Utah State Brings Another High-Level Test
Utah State enters at 24-5 overall and 14-4 in Mountain West play, giving UNLV another game against one of the league’s best teams. The Rebels already know what the Aggies can do after winning the first meeting in Logan, where UNLV erased a 14-point deficit and came away with one of its best road victories of the season.
“Obviously, they’re a really good basketball team,” Pastner said. “Coach Calhoun, outstanding coach. They’re very well coached. Got great players.”
Pastner has also been outspoken about the environment Utah State has built in Logan. Even though Tuesday’s rematch comes in Las Vegas, he used the first meeting to explain how difficult it is to win in that building and how much energy can influence a college basketball game before the opening possession settles.
“To win in Logan … they probably have the best home court atmosphere advantage that I’ve been at,” Pastner said.
He later estimated that the environment can create the equivalent of a significant head start for the Aggies.
“That’s a 6 to 8 points you’re starting … right before the ball is even tipped,” Pastner said. “Basketball, like life, is about energy.”
Pastner also praised Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun, saying he “should be in consideration for coach of the year” and predicting that other programs will eventually come calling.
“He’s gonna be in consideration for every job that opens,” Pastner said. “They’re gonna have to pay him big bucks.”
UNLV gets Utah State at home this time, and after Pastner credited the Thomas & Mack crowd for helping carry the Rebels against UNR, Tuesday gives the program an immediate chance to see whether that atmosphere can become something repeatable.
Pastner Makes the Player of the Year Case for Gibbs-Lawhorn
Pastner’s most detailed argument Monday centered on Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, and one word kept coming up throughout it: efficiency.
“Dra has been just outstanding,” Pastner said. “If we were competing for a league championship, I don’t think it’d be a question that he would be Mountain West player of the year.”
Pastner referenced comparisons Curtis Terry has made between Gibbs-Lawhorn’s current scoring stretch and some of Bryce Hamilton’s hottest runs at UNLV. He believes the difference is how efficiently Gibbs-Lawhorn has produced those numbers despite becoming the first name on every opponent’s scouting report.
“The difference is … the efficiency level is probably different than anybody else,” Pastner said. “To score 42 on 22 shots, to score 30 on 11 shots … when you are the other team’s focal point, top of the scouting report, the whole thing is to shut you down, and you’re being that efficient.”
Gibbs-Lawhorn’s recent game log supports Pastner’s argument. Over his last five games, he has scored 160 points, an average of 32 per game in 38.4 minutes. That stretch includes 42 against UNR on 14-of-22 shooting with eight 3-pointers, 30 at Grand Canyon on 10-of-20 shooting with six 3-pointers and 36 at Boise State on 13-of-22 shooting with another six from beyond the arc.
Across those five games, Gibbs-Lawhorn has a 76.4% true shooting percentage while carrying a 31.8% usage rate. He is making 55.6% of his 3-point attempts despite taking 10.8 per game, which is what makes the stretch stand out. The volume has climbed without dragging the efficiency down.
The conference numbers remain strong when the sample expands. Through 18 Mountain West games, Gibbs-Lawhorn is averaging 23.8 points in 35.9 minutes while shooting 59.5% on 2-point attempts and 48.5% from 3-point range. He is also averaging 2.6 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals with a 68.6% true shooting percentage.
Pastner also emphasized that Gibbs-Lawhorn has not produced those numbers while occupying one narrow role. Injuries and lineup changes have forced UNLV to ask him to become more of a point guard, remain the primary scorer and handle difficult defensive assignments.
“He’s done it as our point guard,” Pastner said. “We’ve asked him to guard other team’s best player. We’ve asked him to do a lot.”
Pastner eventually returned to the point he believes separates Gibbs-Lawhorn’s case from simply being another high-volume scorer.
“Everything’s about efficiency,” he said.
The Standings Remain the Counterargument
Pastner did not dismiss the most obvious argument against Gibbs-Lawhorn’s Player of the Year candidacy. UNLV is not sitting at the top of the Mountain West standings, and voters have traditionally placed significant weight on team success when deciding individual awards.
When asked about Utah State fans arguing that Player of the Year should not come from a team potentially finishing somewhere between sixth and eighth, Pastner acknowledged the point while noting that the standings are not final.
“There’s still games to be played,” Pastner said. “We could finish anywhere from, really, from fourth to eighth.”
He then returned to Gibbs-Lawhorn’s February production and why he believes the efficiency makes the run different.
“What he’s done in this stretch of February … he’s averaged over 30 points a game,” Pastner said. “And I just think it’d be based on his efficiency rate is what makes it so special.”
Pastner also made sure to credit Utah State’s Mason Falslev, another player with a legitimate case.
“Mason’s outstanding … absolutely worthy to be in consideration,” Pastner said.
That leaves the debate where it has been for much of the last few weeks. Gibbs-Lawhorn has individual production that compares with anyone in the league, but UNLV’s position in the standings remains the part of the résumé he cannot completely control.
UNLV Needs Hamilton on the Floor
Kimani Hamilton represents a different concern heading into the final week because his production matters only if UNLV can keep him available.
Hamilton has fouled out of 11 games this season. At this point, that is more than a personal stat. It changes how Pastner can defend, rebound and structure his lineups, especially against a Utah State team that uses efficient guard play and spacing to force difficult defensive decisions.
Hamilton is averaging 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds this season. In Mountain West play, he is averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 29.3 minutes while shooting 51.5% on 2-point attempts and 43.1% from 3-point range. Over his last five games, those numbers have climbed to 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds with a 61.5% true shooting percentage and 46.7% shooting from three.
UNLV needs that production late in games, but Hamilton’s importance extends beyond his scoring. His versatility allows Pastner to change lineups without completely sacrificing spacing, rebounding or defensive flexibility. When foul trouble removes him, the Rebels have fewer ways to adjust.
Against Utah State, defending without fouling becomes part of the game plan for the entire roster, but Hamilton may be the player whose foul count changes the most for UNLV.
Fleming Has Become the Control Piece
Pastner saved one of his favorite statistics for Howie Fleming Jr., and it explains why Fleming has become so important even when he is not one of UNLV’s leading scorers.
“Howie Fleming … 29 assists in 3 turnovers over the last 5 games,” Pastner said. “That’s an incredible stat.”
That works out to a 9.67-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Over that five-game stretch, Fleming is averaging 5.8 assists and only 0.6 turnovers while playing 31.9 minutes per game. In Mountain West play overall, he is averaging 9.4 points, 3.9 assists and five rebounds in 29.6 minutes.
Those numbers point directly toward something UNLV spent months trying to establish. Fleming gives the Rebels stability. He gets them into offense, protects possessions and gives Gibbs-Lawhorn another ballhandler who can keep everything from becoming dependent on one player creating late in the shot clock.
Pastner tied that directly to winning basketball. Taking care of the ball, generating good shots and not beating yourself become even more important in March, when one bad stretch can end the season.
Jones Is Making Winning Plays
Pastner also returned to Tyrin Jones and the way his response to adversity has changed over the course of the season.
Jones missed important free throws late against UNR, but instead of allowing those misses to remove him mentally from the game, he came back and made the biggest offensive and defensive plays of the night.
“Earlier in the year … he would have been out of it,” Pastner said. “Came back and makes the game winning bucket.”
Pastner also credited Fleming for securing the rebound and throwing the ball ahead on the final offensive sequence before Jones attacked and finished the game-winning euro step. Jones then disrupted UNR’s final possession with a deflection near midcourt, forcing the Wolf Pack to use valuable seconds before getting a rushed final shot.
Those were the plays Pastner described as “winning plays.”
Jones’ overall production has continued improving as well. In conference play, he is averaging 12.4 points on 59.3% shooting with 4.2 rebounds, two blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Over his last five games, he is averaging 13.8 points and 2.2 blocks, while his 8% block rate in Mountain West play gives UNLV one of its most important defensive tools.
The scoring and rim protection matter, but Jones responding to mistakes without disappearing from the game may be the development Pastner values most heading into March.
Pastner Wants the Team Out of the Noise
Pastner’s message about everything happening outside the program was similar to his approach to the standings. He does not want his players living in either praise or criticism.
“You can’t digest any negativity or any praise,” Pastner said. “It’s just not healthy either direction.”
He also warned that social media can make a relatively small group of voices feel much larger than it actually is.
“Sometimes in social media, you think it’s the masses when it’s really only a small number,” Pastner said.
That does not mean Pastner believes UNLV can ignore the frustration surrounding the program. He said the Rebels have to earn trust through results and meaningful basketball.
“We’ve gotta do our job to earn the trust back by winning,” Pastner said. “Winning big and playing meaningful games.”
Pastner then moved into another part of modern college basketball that will become increasingly important once the season ends.
“Retention in this day and age is not just, hey, come on back,” Pastner said. “There’s more to it.”
The comment carried obvious subtext. UNLV will eventually have to work to keep together a core that has become more defined as the season has progressed, and the process of retaining players now involves considerably more than simply asking them to return.
The Final Week Is About Making This Version Repeatable
UNLV is not chasing the Mountain West regular-season championship anymore, and Pastner has acknowledged that clearly. The Rebels are chasing seeding, momentum and the version of themselves that gives them the best chance to survive a neutral-floor week in Las Vegas.
The blueprint has become easier to identify. Gibbs-Lawhorn is producing like one of the best guards in the conference while maintaining elite efficiency under enormous usage. Fleming is protecting the basketball and giving UNLV another organizer. Jones is providing rim protection, physicality and increasingly important late-game plays. Hamilton remains one of the Rebels’ most valuable lineup pieces when he can stay away from foul trouble.
Saturday against UNR showed what the Thomas & Mack Center can still feel like when the city has a reason to invest. Pastner called the crowd the MVP, and the messages he received afterward reinforced how much the rivalry win resonated beyond the locker room.
Tuesday against Utah State is the immediate test of whether any of it can carry forward. The Aggies give UNLV another high-level opponent, another chance to improve its tournament seed and another opportunity to prove that Saturday was more than one emotional rivalry night.
Pastner has already made clear what UNLV is not playing for anymore. The league championship and at-large conversation are gone. What remains is still important because the Rebels can change their tournament path, continue developing the players carrying their best stretch and arrive in March playing their best basketball.
The energy returned Saturday. Now UNLV has to turn it into something repeatable.
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