Rebels get boost from newcomer, slip by Stanford to snap 3-game skid

The UNLV men’s basketball team didn’t return to full strength Sunday following a long layoff as coach Josh Pastner hoped.

But the Rebels did get one player back, and he made a massive impact on the outcome.

Center Emmanuel Stephen had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his season debut, and UNLV escaped with a 75-74 win over Stanford on Sunday at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California.

Kimani Hamilton’s free throw with 3.8 seconds left was the difference for the Rebels (4-5), who snapped a three-game losing streak.

“I’m beyond proud of our young men, to fight, to scrap, to kick, to claw,” Pastner said during his postgame radio interview. “We won the game through defense. We really guarded at a high level, and that was the bottom line.”

The Rebels played for the first time since a loss to Rutgers on Nov. 27 and were without forward Jacob Bannarbie, who was a late scratch and missed his fourth straight game with a calf injury. Guard Howie Fleming Jr. didn’t make the trip to the Bay Area, according to the broadcast, and forward Ladji Dembele sat out his second straight game.

Stephen, a 7-foot transfer from Arizona, returned after missing the first eight games because of injury and gave the Rebels a lift at both ends of the court. UNLV outscored the Cardinal 48-28 in the paint and held Stanford to 38 percent shooting (24-for-63).

“I’ve said this, our team would be so different if we had a (center),” Pastner said. “When our team is together with our full pieces we have a chance to be really good. Guys have had to fight and find ways, and other guys have stepped up. Emmanuel Stephen came and just gave us some great minutes … and just was outstanding.”

UNLV went more than three minutes without a field goal until Stephen’s short jumper cut the Cardinal’s lead to 68-66 with 3:05 remaining. His steal with a little more than a minute left led to a transition opportunity for Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Rebels a 72-70 lead.

After Ebuka Okorie’s three-point play put Stanford (7-2) back on top 73-72 with 51.4 seconds left, Hamilton lowered his shoulder and scored inside to put UNLV ahead 74-73 with 30 seconds remaining.

Okorie made one of two free throws with 17.7 seconds left before UNLV held for the last shot. Hamilton received the ball near the midcourt logo with less than 10 seconds on the clock, drove at two Cardinal defenders and was fouled with 3.8 seconds.

Hamilton missed the first free throw but bounced in the second to give the Rebels the lead. Okorie’s running 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.

Hamilton finished with 15 points, four rebounds and four steals. Gibbs-Lawhorn added 15 points and five rebounds, and Tyrin Jones had 11 points for UNLV.

“Kimani Hamilton, he was really good in the paint,” Pastner said. “We ran some different actions to get him isolated, which was good for us.”

The Rebels won despite being outrebounded 46-34 and allowing 20 offensive boards. Stanford turned those into 26 second-chance points.

Okorie led the Cardinal with 18 points but was held to 4-for-16 shooting by the UNLV defense, which utilized a 1-3-1 zone with Stephen protecting the rim. Ryan Agarwal had 13 points and Benny Gealer scored 11 as the two combined for six of Stanford’s nine 3-pointers.

Stanford used a 9-0 run to take a 33-24 lead after Oskar Giltay’s layup with 5:03 until halftime, but the Rebels, who shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the first half, responded with a run of their own.

Issac Williamson’s driving layup after a slick spin move brought UNLV to within 37-31, and the Rebels trailed 39-38 at the break after back-to-back dunks by Stephen to close the half.

The Rebels return to action Saturday against Tennessee State at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.