LAS VEGAS — UNLV forward Kimani Hamilton finished through contact with 19 seconds left, and center Tyrin Jones blocked Wyoming’s last attempt to retake the lead. They rescued eighth-seeded UNLV in a 73-70 Mountain West tournament first-round win Wednesday.
The Rebels trailed 70-68 coming out of a timeout. Hamilton attacked the paint, made the basket and converted the free throw for a 71-70 lead. UNLV had lost its double-digit first-half advantage; now it needed one stop to keep the season alive in the tournament.
Wyoming then got another offensive rebound. After Nasir Meyer missed with six seconds left, Damarion Dennis tried a putback, but Jones slid across the lane and blocked it with three seconds remaining. Hamilton secured the rebound and made two free throws, denying the Cowboys another second chance and extending the lead to three.
Hamilton finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jones blocked six shots. The Rebels advanced to face top-seeded Utah State at noon Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV STAYIN ALIVE ‼️
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 11, 2026
UNLV coach Josh Pastner said afterward that the Rebels sought a switch that would leave Meyer defending Hamilton. Hamilton backed Meyer toward the basket, turned and finished while drawing the foul.
Hamilton finished with two fouls in 32 minutes, a change for a scorer whose minutes have often been interrupted by foul trouble. Afterward, he emphasized avoiding early fouls.
Leading scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn scored all 15 of his points before halftime, leaving Hamilton and Brown to supply the late scoring.
Gibbs-Lawhorn had told Hamilton to take over during the second half. He credited Wyoming’s defense for holding him scoreless after halftime.
UNLV had led 44-31 at halftime, but Wyoming moved ahead 58-55 with 7:41 left. The Cowboys grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and committed just five turnovers, repeatedly giving themselves another chance while denying UNLV easy takeaways.
Pastner was direct about that failure in the postgame press conference: “They crushed us on the glass. We’ve got to be better than that.”
The opening half had given UNLV a less complicated game. A 10-0 run pushed the lead to 30-15 with 6:33 remaining, and the advantage reached 16 before halftime. Wyoming was missing repeatedly from outside while the Rebels found a sustained stretch of made shots. UNLV finished the half at 15-for-26; the Cowboys made only two of 17 3-point attempts.
Gibbs-Lawhorn credited the early defense with helping UNLV run, explaining that securing rebounds let the Rebels advance before Wyoming could organize.
Meyer’s 3-pointer at the halftime horn kept Wyoming within 13. An opening 17-5 run after halftime reduced UNLV’s lead to 49-48 as the Rebels made only one of their first 10 shots of the half.
Walter Brown helped bring UNLV back. With just under four minutes left, the senior made a wing 3 for a 63-62 lead. After Dennis answered, Brown made another 3 to put the Rebels ahead 66-64.
WALTERR 3 👌 UP 1
— UNLV Men’s Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) March 11, 2026
Gavin Gores scored 11 of his team-high 15 points after halftime. Dennis supplied 13 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, while Meyer added 14 points and seven boards.
Leland Walker had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists with one turnover.
The Cowboys’ bench outscored the Rebels’ reserves 26-15. Gores gave Wyoming another scorer while Khaden Bennett dealt with foul trouble. Uriyah Rojas added seven points and six rebounds. Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks praised Rojas afterward for playing within his role when Bennett was unavailable.
Brown finished with nine points and 10 rebounds, eight at the defensive end.
Jacob Bannarbie added six points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks without a turnover. He made both of his field-goal attempts. His work gave UNLV interior contributions beyond Jones’ headline block total. Issac Williamson supplied eight points off the bench on three made shots, including two 3-pointers, and collected two steals.
Guard Howie Fleming Jr. finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. His four fouls were part of the rotation problem Pastner had to manage. Only seven Rebels played, and every one of them logged at least 21 minutes. The first-round win came with work attached: the same small group would have to return the following afternoon against a rested opponent.
Pastner said afterward that Brown’s shooting and rebounding, Fleming’s passing and Jones’ shot blocking made those players difficult to remove. Bannarbie’s reduced role was a choice among productive teammates, he said, rather than dissatisfaction with the returning big man.
TIED UP
— UNLV Men’s Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) March 11, 2026
The Rebels have ARRIVED!
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 11, 2026
Karlie Drew catches up with UNLV Head Coach, Josh Pastner, after his first win at the #MWMBB Championship during the Old Trapper Postgame Show.
UNLV recorded 12 blocks, with Bannarbie supplying three, Hamilton two and Gibbs-Lawhorn one alongside Jones’ six. The total was the second-highest in Mountain West tournament history, and Jones’ individual mark tied for fourth in the event.
Yet the Cowboys still scored 44 points in the paint. Jones finished with five rebounds, while Wyoming collected 21 offensive boards as a team.
The Cowboys finished with 70 field-goal attempts to UNLV’s 52. Their extra chances kept a 37.1% shooting performance competitive against a team making 44.2%.
The free-throw line offered the Rebels a way to cover that difference in attempts, but they left points there, too. UNLV went 19-for-31, compared with Wyoming’s 15-for-20. Eleven additional opportunities produced only four additional points. Brown and Jones each went 1-for-5. Hamilton made nine of 12, including the final three points of the game.
Wyoming tried to throw the ball the length of the floor after Hamilton’s final free throw. The pass was disrupted, and Gores’ hurried attempt missed.
Across the preceding 10 years, the Rebels had gone 5-0 against Air Force in the tournament and 0-10 against everybody else. Wednesday ended the latter streak.
Wyoming won the January meeting 98-66 after scoring 48 first-half points. Walker scored 28, and the Cowboys made eight of 11 3-pointers before halftime.
Wyoming made just three 3-pointers Wednesday. Its comeback instead depended on finishing inside and recovering misses.
UNLV missed 20 of 45 free throws in Laramie. Its 12 misses Wednesday again kept Wyoming within reach before Hamilton’s closing makes.
UNLV’s two regular-season wins over Utah State supply a reason to anticipate the quarterfinal beyond merely surviving another day. In Logan, the Rebels came back from a 14-point second-half deficit to win 86-76. At home on March 3, they won 92-65 with five players in double figures and Fleming recording 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Gibbs-Lawhorn played all 40 minutes against Wyoming, and Brown played 34. Jones had four fouls in his 27 minutes.
Utah State finished the regular season 25-6 and 15-5 in the Mountain West. UNLV will be seeking its first tournament semifinal appearance since 2014.
