‘We have to get better’: UNLV basketball suffers 2nd shocking home loss
Well, not everyone can be Chattanooga on the second night of a back-to-back.
UNLV men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner wants his team to get better each time it steps on the court.
That didn’t happen Tuesday night. Not in any sense.
Certainly not on defense.
The Rebels lost for the second time this young season as a double-digit favorite, falling to Montana 102-93 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
UNLV was coming off a 101-69 blowout victory Saturday against Chattanooga, which was playing its second game in as many nights. This, after the Rebels fell to Tennessee-Martin to open the season Nov. 4.
No defense
Things haven’t gone as planned for UNLV. This schedule was supposed to lead to early wins and some positive thoughts about a new season under a new coach.
The Rebels weren’t good at all defensively Tuesday. Montana shot 55 percent from the floor, including 38 percent on 3s. The Grizzlies got to the basket with ease.
“The lack of shot blocking for us was obviously evident in the game today,” Pastner said. “Whether it’s man or zone, if you don’t have that shot blocker behind, it makes it more difficult. A couple times guys were driving in there and not having that presence gives you some holes defensively.”
UNLV didn’t shoot that well, going 6-of-26 on 3s and 17-of-27 at the free-thrown line. The Rebels were also outrebounded 38-31.
They couldn’t control Montana guard Money Williams, who finished with a game-high 30 points and eight assists.
“I’d say we probably didn’t execute our defensive game plan,” UNLV guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn said. “We knew Money Williams was a good player and we didn’t shut him down like we wanted to.
“We’re all really confident in our squad. We know the type of team we have. We have a lot of new guys and it’s just about putting the pieces together.”
It was 47-45 Montana at halftime and the Grizzlies could thank Williams for their slight advantage.
He scored 18 points in the first half on 8-of-15 shooting.
Montana went on a 13-2 run early to take a 19-13 lead. The Rebels came back to tie the game at 19 and things went back and forth the rest of the half. Neither team led by more than six over the last 11:43 before halftime.
The Grizzlies then raced out to a huge lead in the second half. They were up 15 with under 11 minutes remaining. Fans headed for the exits with three minutes left.
Montana was coming off a 91-68 loss to Stanford, a team UNLV plays Dec. 7.
“We just have to be tougher,” Pastner said. “We’ve got to be tougher. You score 93 points, you have to win the game. But we haven’t been tough enough defensively in (the two losses). You can’t lose a game with 93 points. You just can’t. Credit Montana for the win.
“We just weren’t the toughest team tonight. That’s the disappointing part.”
Next stop: Memphis
Gibbs-Lawhorn scored a team-high 26 points for UNLV while Hamilton added 16.
Brooklyn Hicks, a UNLV player from 2023 to 2025 who entered averaging 11 points for the Grizzlies, had eight points and five rebounds.
The Rebels visit Memphis on Sunday for their first road game of the season. Pastner coached the Tigers from 2009 to 2016.
“We have to get better,” he said. “We have to improve. That’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now.”
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
