UNLV Runnin' Rebels Lose To Tennessee State Tigers Before Starting Mountain West Play

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team suffered another bad loss this weekend. They lost to the Tennessee State Tigers in a low-scoring 63 - 60 game. After heading into the half with a lead of 33 - 29, UNLV was outscored 34 - 27 in the second half. They struggled mightily shooting the ball, making just 37% of their shots from the field. These two teams combined to shoot just 5 - 31 from beyond the three-point line. The loss drops the Rebels to 6 - 4 on the season, with the Tigers moving to 4 - 6 with the win. Following the loss, UNLV head coach Josh Pastner spoke to the media.

"Credit to Tennessee State," Pastner said. "They were the more physical team. We could never pull away. We were up 29-20 in the first half, and I thought we were right there, ready to pull away, but we had a costly turnover, and it got back to a see-saw game. We weren't really good offensively. We missed so many layups, left free throws, and some shots short. We kept missing and missing and couldn't score. We had to clean up our defense, which we have, but then offensively, we just haven't been able to. It's a roller coaster with our team. We can beat anyone on any given night, and we can lose to anybody on any given night. When you hold a team to 63, you've got to win the game. But that's a credit to Tennessee State."

Junior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led the team with 13 points in 23 minutes. He shot 50% from the field, making 4 - 8, and made all four of his free throws. The Rebels made 19 - 32 free throws in this game, while the Tigers made just 5 - 13. Gibbs-Lawhorn also chipped in with two rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks.

Senior forward Kimani Hamilton led the team in both rebounds and assists, with nine boards and four dimes. However, he scored seven points shooting just 2 - 8 from the field, 0 - 3 from three, and 3 - 6 from the free throw line.

The star of the game for Tennessee State was senior guard Aaron Nkrumah. He finished tied with the team lead with 12 points despite shooting just 5 - 13 from the field and 1 - 5 from three. He also had a team-high eight rebounds and chipped in with two assists and two steals.

Next up for the Rebels are the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, when they kick off their Mountain West Conference schedule. They will be at home, back at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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