UNLV Runnin' Rebels Win Overtime Thriller Over Boise State Broncos At Home

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team came away with a huge win on Tuesday night on their home court of the Thomas & Mack Center in an overtime thriller over the Boise State Broncos. Regulation finished with the teams tied at 76 - 76, but after outscoring the Broncos 13 - 9 in the extra period, they won the game by a score of 89 - 85. This victory snapped a two-game losing streak and extended their home winning streak to five consecutive games. They are also still undefeated on their home court in Mountain West Conference play.

With this win, the Rebels climb back to .500 at 8 - 8 overall on the season and to 3 - 3 in conference play. They are currently two games back in the Mountain West standings. Boise State drops to 9 - 8 overall and 1 - 5 in the Mountain West. This was a huge win for the Rebels. Following the thrilling win, UNLV head coach Josh Pastner spoke about the game.

“The worst case scenario is we get five more minutes more of a game in overtime,” Pastner said. “We’ve been good in close games. We won against Stanford, St. Joe’s, this game. We had to grit this out. We had to tough this out... You have to have talent, obviously. But you have to find a way deep inside as a competitor. You have to be a fighter. I live my whole life that way, and if somebody doesn’t, I’m not aligned. That’s how it’s going to be. We found a way to get a win.”

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn absolutely exploded in this game. The junior guard scored a career-high 33 points, shooting 11 - 23 from the field, 2 - 8 from beyond the three-point line, and making 9 - 12 free throws. He also chipped in with six assists, five rebounds, and one steal. This is the kind of offensive explosion that we have been waiting for from Gibbs-Lawhorn since he joined the team through the transfer portal, and he still has room to improve and be even better.

Next up for the Rebels are the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday afternoon. This will be a huge opportunity for them to get their first road win in conference play. The Spartans are just 6 - 11 this season and 1 - 5 in Mountain West play. It will be a must-win game for UNLV if they want to be taken seriously at all in their quest for a Mountain West title.

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