UNLV outclassed by No. 8 Alabama in Players Era Championship — PHOTOS

UNLV has been outmanned to start the season with five scholarship players sidelined because of injuries.

The Rebels were also outclassed Tuesday for the first time in the Josh Pastner era in a 115-76 loss to No. 8 Alabama in The Players Era Championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“First of all, Alabama is really good,” Pastner said. “As limited as we are and as small as we are right now without our front-court guys, it was going to be an uphill battle from the start.

“They made some great shots, and, of course, we struggled to score.”

The Rebels (3-4) will next play Rutgers (4-3) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a consolation game at Michelob Ultra Arena.

It should represent a step down in competition from the Crimson Tide (4-2), who had played top-12 teams in each of their previous four games and were primed to pounce on a wounded opponent.

“We played four straight ranked teams, and this is why you play good teams,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “You’re testing yourself against the best, and then you get a game like this, I think you’re used to playing top-25 teams.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Pastner. … When they get healthy, they’ll be significantly better, but they weren’t healthy. He’s in his first year, and we were significantly better. If we played the right way, I knew we’d be able to open a lead up, and we did.”

Second-half barrage

They did so by making 14 3-pointers and connecting on 55 percent from the field while coming at the Rebels in waves, playing 10 guys between 12 and 25 minutes. Alabama’s bench outscored UNLV’s 38-9.

“They made some tough 3s,” Pastner said. “They’re really, really good. They’ve got multiple NBA guys on their team, and they made NBA type of shots.”

That shooting got even better in the second half, when Alabama wore down the Rebels and made 21 of 33 shots after the break for a 63.6 percent clip.

Oats was particularly proud of his team for dominating on the glass, outrebounding UNLV 24-10 in the second half and 48-28 overall.

The Rebels looked overwhelmed by a challenge that would have been difficult enough at full strength.

The Crimson Tide went on runs of 19-3 and 15-2 in the second half.

“I just felt like we looked small out there compared to them and compared to an SEC team, and then it kind of avalanched a little bit here and there into just one of those nights,” Pastner said. “In the end, they were the better team tonight. There’s no doubt.”

Dra Gibbs Lawhorn scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half to lead UNLV, which also got 18 points from freshman Issac Williamson.

Aden Holloway went 5-for-6 on 3-pointers and totaled 26 points to pace six Alabama scorers in double figures.

Late first-half run

Alabama closed the first half on a 22-11 run in the final eight minutes and led 51-36 at halftime, largely on the strength of a 12-point advantage on free throws.

The Crimson Tide went 15-for-19 in the first half, while UNLV went to the line seven times.

Williamson kept the Rebels in the game, going 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. He was the only scorer on either team in double figures in the first half.

UNLV played without four players Monday and found out before Tuesday’s game that forward Naas Cunningham, an Alabama transfer, would be added to that list because of an ankle injury.

The Rebels are also without Jacob Bannarbie (calf), Myles Che (foot), Mason Abittan (ankle) and Emmanuel Stephen (hip).

Ladji Dembele is just returning from an injury but is on a minutes restriction, Pastner said. He played 10 minutes Tuesday.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.