Pastner, UNLV earns first win of season after aggressive showing on both ends

Head coach Josh Pastner’s first UNLV had to wait until the program’s second game but it’s finally done.

Pastner’s Runnin’ Rebels took down the Chattanooga Mocs, 101-69, Saturday, Nov. 8 from the Thomas & Mack Center. Chattanooga won the NIT championship last season.

“Really proud of our young men on a bounce back,” head coach Josh Pastner said. “I thought we got better from Tuesday to today. That’s what we’ve got to do every time we step on the floor is get better.”

It was a more positive feeling following this one after dropping the program’s season opener, 86-81, to UT Martin. With a 1-1 overall record, UNLV will conclude a three-game homestand Tuesday against Montana.

That game will be played Tuesday, Nov. 11 from the Thomas & Mack Center with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.

“Bottom line is we got better from Tuesday to today,” Pastner said. “And we need to get better from today on Tuesday and we need to get better on Tuesday from next Sunday and then we need to get better from Sunday to Thursday then to Monday, Tuesday and into that.”

A much more aggressive start in comparison to Tuesday led to a much different result for the Rebels. It showed nowhere more than on the defensive end.

UNLV forced 12 turnovers on the way to seven steals and three blocks in the win. It was a win where the home team trailed for just 64 total seconds while ultimately leading by as many as 29 points.

“We had seven three stops in a row throughout the course of the game defensively,” Pastner said. “I thought our guys executed the defensive gameplan. Chattanooga is very, very well-coached.”

Fouls allowed 48 free throws to the opponent in the Rebels’ season-opening loss. In this one, defending without fouling could’ve been the difference.

On the other hand, UNLV was fouled 29 times to the tune of 27-of-37 from the charity stripe. Senior forward Kimani Hamilton even shot a pair with just 0.3 seconds left in the first half on his way to 19 points on the night.

“One of the things coach speaks on a lot is competitive excellence,” senior guard Howie Fleming Jr. said. “Just going out there and competing hard. Watching the film from UT-Martin, we kind of let up on our competitive excellence. So that was the big thing tonight, be competitors.”

Freshman Naas Cunningham had the biggest scoring night of anybody on the court with 25 points on 8-of-14 from the field. He also was able to get to the free throw line 10 times despite only making six of those attempts.

En route to the career-high scoring night, Cunningham was one of two players with two three-pointers in the win and was the team-leader with three makes from deep. As a team, UNLV shot 8-for-22 from three-point territory.

“Really I just let the game come to me,” he said. “Trusted my teammates to find me when I’m open. Make winnings play and the basketball Gods will reward you if you’re doing the right thing.”

Fleming’s night was a bit more well-rounded as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.

With guards Isaac Williamson and Myles Che on the shelf due to injury, UNLV sported several different primary ball-handlers in the game including Fleming.

“Just trusting each other,” Fleming said. “We all are high-level guys with great backgrounds so just trusting each other, sharing the sugar. Coach talks about rhythm and flow, the ball got energy.”

Sophomore Jacob Bannarbie had another strong showing to start his second official season with the program. He entered this year as the lone returner to the roster since the departure of former head coach Kevin Kruger.

On Saturday, Bannarbie chipped in with 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night to go along with four rebounds in just over 18 minutes of action.

“JB’s been here for a couple years and he hadn’t played before,” Cunningham said. “Seeing him in practice knowing that he’s got a chip on his shoulder to get on the floor and show what he can do and how he can help us win. He’s a good example to look at if you need somebody to just push through and be a tough player and JB is one of those types of guys.”

Junior guard Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn was the final player to reach double-figures before ending with 13 points on a very efficient 4-of-7 from the field.

“We executed the gameplan,” Pastner said. “Fortunate to get a great win today obviously, playing the right way. I was proud of our point guard play.”