UNLV Runnin' Rebels Drop Third Game In A Row To In-State Rivals Nevada Wolf Pack

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team dropped their third consecutive game on Friday night. This one stings a little more because it was to their in-state rivals, the Nevada Wolf Pack. Nevada won the game convincingly by a score of 89 - 76.

With this loss, we can safely say that any hopes of the Rebels making a run at the Mountain West Conference regular season championship is dead. They have now dropped to sixth place in the Mountain West with a 5 - 5 conference record and below .500 overall at 10 - 11.

For the Wolf Pack, they improve to 8 - 3 in conference play and 16 - 6 overall. Following another disappointing loss, Rebels head coach Josh Pastner spoke about the game.

"The end of the first half we missed a lot of layups, where we could have taken the lead, and then the start of the second half was the difference," Pastner said. "We left a lot of points on the board at the end of the first half and then the start of the second half we had some turnovers where we didn't gets shots up. Just unforced errors and they went down the other way and obviously took advantage of it. We also didn't get enough paint presence from our five-men and we needed more rim protection. Not having Tyrin (Jones) in there made a big difference."

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was the star of the game for the Runnin' Rebels. The junior guard led the team in scoring with 26 points in a team-high 34 minutes. He went 10 - 17 from the field, 4 - 9 from beyond the three-point line, and 2 - 2 from the free-throw stripe. Gibbs-Lawhorn also chipped in with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

It was a combination of Elijah Price and Corey Camper Jr that gave the Rebels problems all night for the Wolf Pack. Camper scored 32 points on 11 - 15 shooting, including 5 - 7 from three, and 5 - 6 from the free-throw line. He also contributed with four rebounds, two assists, and a team-high three steals. Price dominated inside, scoring 22 points, shooting 50% from the field and making 14 - 15 free throws. He also pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds to go along with two assists and a block.

UNLV will look to finally get back on track on Tuesday. They'll go on the road to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs. Fresno State is 4 - 6 in Mountain West play and 10 - 11 overall. It should be a strong opportunity for the Rebels to snap their three-game losing streak.

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