5 reach double-figures as UNLV completes sweep of first-place Utah State

Typical sports jargon argues that the cream always rises to the top. This year’s UNLV Runnin’ Rebels’ play against the top of the conference may be the visual representation of that.

UNLV completed the sweep of first-place Utah State Tuesday, March 3 from the Thomas & Mack Center, 92-65. Earlier this season, the Rebels beat the Aggies by 10 points up in Logan, Utah.

“Great team win,” head coach Josh Pastner said. “Twenty-one assists, 34 made field goals. I thought defensively we were excellent. I thought we guarded at a really high-level, our last two games we’ve been really good defensively.

“Since I’ve called us out our guys have stepped up to the plate.”

The big 27-point win came on the team’s Senior Night as the program improved to 10-5 at home this season. That includes four wins in the team’s last five outings from the TMC.

As a result, UNLV moves to 16-14 on the year following back-to-back wins.

“Beyond proud of our young men,” Pastner said. “To finish the season the right way again, this is not my program. This is your program, the city’s program, the student’s program, alumni’s [and] former players’ program. I’m just the gatekeeper.”

Entering Tuesday in a three-way tie for the sixth spot in the Mountain West standings. After the win, the team is now 11-8 with one more conference game remaining.

That lone contest left in the regular season will be a road trip to San Diego State for a date with the Aztecs Friday, March 6 from Viejas Arena. It will be a 7 p.m. start time for that game.

“You want to see players and your team get better as the year progresses,” Pastner said. “Nobody can say that we haven’t gotten better. Both guys individually and as a team.”

While Tuesday marked a meeting between the first and fourth-best scorers in the Mountain West in UNLV’s Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Utah State’s MJ Collins Jr., there was very little points to speak of in the first half. Both players combined to score just two points before halftime.

Gibbs-Lawhorn went into the halftime break scoreless after playing less than 10 minutes while saddled with two personal fouls.

“At times you can kind of tell when they’re trying to trap Dra,” senior forward Kimani Hamilton said. “All you do is make a great pass and break the defense down playing four-on-three.”

With Gibbs-Lawhorn battling foul trouble, freshman guard Issac Williamson filled the void off the bench. He gave the team its first lead of the game on a three-pointer on his way to four threes in the first half.

Williamson closed the night with five threes for 15 points before fouling out.

“I think it was great,” senior guard Howie Fleming Jr. said. “Not only for us but for himself as well. He’s dealt with some adversity and as a freshman he’s handled it extremely maturely. This game was just a representation of his resilience.

“A lot of people in his position mentally would’ve already folded.”

In that first half, UNLV held Utah State scoreless for more than six minutes en route to keeping the visitors without a make from the field for more than 11 minutes.

At halftime, the Aggies had shot just 6-for-25 from the field with one make on 12 three-point attempts and going 11-for-16 from the free throw line as the home team went up by as many as 10 points.

“We’ve been doing a lot of watching film,” Fleming Jr. said. “We’re at the stretch now where we’ve played teams twice. I think it’s really on the coaching staff, they did a great job of giving us some adjustments to make in getting prepared for these guys.”

Things really blew open in the second half when the Rebels built a lead as large as 27 points in a game where they led for more than 30 minutes.

As a team, UNLV shot 21-of-30 in the second half while winning the 20-minute session, 60-41.

A large part of that second half success was the play of senior forward Kimani Hamilton, who scored all 24 of his points after halftime.

He scored that game-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with seven rebounds while only committing two fouls.

“When he’s not in foul trouble and he’s able to be in the game, we’re a different team,” Pastner said. “He was outstanding tonight.”

Hamilton did it on all fronts in the second half with highlight plays beginning with a block and a steal. After blocking a three-point attempt on the perimeter, he leaked out for a fast break two-hand dunk. Soon after, he ripped an opposing player on the wing and raced out for a left-hand layup plus the flagrant foul.

That ultimately turned into a seven-point possession for UNLV.

“Nobody said nothing [at halftime],” he said. “Just keep attacking them, nothing really else. I don’t force the game, I just let the game come to me.”

Freshman forward Tyrin Jones added 17 points on a very efficient 8-for-10 shooting night.

Fleming Jr. recorded his second triple-double in the last four games. At halftime of the latest outing, he accumulated five points, seven rebounds and eight assists to set the stage for his historic performance.

“I’ve had a lot of highs and lows in my college career,” he said. “Thanks to God and being able to play through some things, some injuries I’ve had that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to play through. So I’m just grateful to be here, I’m accepting of the love although a lot of the love comes with some hate too so you’ve got to accept that.”

Before the final buzzer, Fleming Jr. sat with 12 points and 12 assists. With just about 10 seconds left in regulation, he hauled in his 10th rebound of the game.

“In the last six games Howie Fleming Jr. is averaging 10 assists to one turnover,” Pastner said. “Ten assists to one turnover, I mean, that’s an unheard of stat. That’s really amazing [and a] second triple-double.

“To get a triple-double is nearly impossible in a 40-minute game, it’s hard to do. But to get two in the last basically four games or whatever it is, is surreal.”