Crimson Tide runs rampant on Runnin’ Rebels, knocks UNLV under .500 again

The second session of the Players Era Men’s Championship gave UNLV basketball another chance to capture a statement win but fell short, this time in more dire fashion.

With a chance to pick up a ranked win for the first time since December 2023, UNLV lost to No. 8 Alabama, 115-76, Tuesday, Nov. 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The program went 0-2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena over the past two days after having previously won four straight in the building.

“We struggled to score,” head coach Josh Pastner said. “We just don’t really have an inside presence right now.”

After having won back-to-back games, the back-to-back losses has set the Rebels back under .500 for the second time this season. They are now 3-4 on the year with one more game remaining on the Players Era Men’s Championship trail.

UNLV’s run in this year’s tournament ends with a Thursday, Nov. 27 matchup from the Michelob Ultra Arena against Rutgers. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

“We’ve got to put this behind us,” Pastner said. “We play Rutgers Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and hopefully we get some rest. Put this behind us and be ready to go against a really good Rutgers team.”

In a game that was expected to produce a lot of points, Alabama’s offense was just too much for UNLV. While both teams entered hovering around 90 points per game, one team would far exceed that mark while the other wouldn’t even come close.

Through the first 10-plus minutes of the first half, the game was relatively evenly matched before a 10-4 run by the Crimson Tide. Not long after, the Rebels found themselves down 16 points before the end of the first half.

“I just felt we looked small out there,” Pastner said. “Compared to an SEC team and it just kind of avalanched a little bit here and there and it was just one of those nights.”

It was a fast and furious pace as anticipated but Alabama was the only team to find sustained success in the fast break department. Ultimately, the SEC program ran into 16 fast break points while allowing just four from UNLV.

Things would get much worse in the second half as that 16-point deficit swelled into an eventual 41-point hole before the final buzzer.

The Crimson Tide would eventually score 100 points in the win, becoming the second team to reach triple-digits against the Rebels this season. Moreover, the 115 points given up is the most points allowed by Pastner’s group this season after having a previous season-high of 102 points in a loss against the Montana Grizzlies.

UNLV trailed for nearly 38 minutes of the 40-minute ball game which was a far-cry from leading for more than half of the contest against Maryland last night.

While the scoreboard read a lopsided loss for the Rebels, it wasn’t a completely horrid performance for the team in some aspects. A couple things that stand out included committing less turnovers than the eventual winners of the game while also matching their 42 points in the paint.

Junior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn overcame a cold first half where he scored just three points to rebound in the second half with a much better showing. He tallied 22 more points in the second half on the way to 25 points for the game on 9-of-19 shooting.

Freshman guard Issac Williamson added 18 points in the loss with four three-pointers to show for it.

Senior forward Kimani Hamilton was the final Rebel player in double-figures with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. He would foul out for the second straight game and third overall after pushing a Crimson Tide player in the back on a fast break layup attempt.