FORT COLLINS, Colo. — UNLV appeared poised to snap its losing streak Friday night at Moby Arena, leading Colorado State by four with under six minutes remaining. But a 16-4 Rams run to close the game handed the Rebels a 70-62 defeat, their second straight Mountain West loss.
The Rebels (7-8, 2-2 MW) fell below .500 for the first time this season after being outscored 16-4 over the final 5:33. Colorado State (11-5, 2-3) made 10 free throws in the last six minutes and held UNLV to just one made field goal over the final nine minutes.
“I was really proud of our guys’ effort. I had no issue with that,” UNLV coach Josh Pastner said in his postgame radio interview. “I was proud of the way they responded after Tuesday’s game. I told them today was going to showcase a lot about your character on how are you going to respond.”
Issac Williamson led UNLV with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including two 3-pointers off the bench. Dra Gibbs Lawhorn added 13 points, and Al Green contributed 12 points off the bench. The Rebels shot 15 of 25 from the free-throw line and 7 of 20 from beyond the arc.
Foul trouble plagued UNLV, as Kimani Hamilton, Emmanuel Stephen, and Jacob Bannarbie all fouled out. Hamilton and Stephen each scored three points, while Bannarbie had five.
Colorado State’s Brandon Rechsteiner scored 15 points to lead four Rams in double figures. The Rams shot 12 of 23 from the field in the second half, made nine 3-pointers, and went 21 of 30 from the free-throw line.
Pastner made an early statement, substituting all five starters less than four minutes into the game after Colorado State jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The bench unit responded with an 11-0 run, putting UNLV ahead 11-9. Gibbs Lawhorn then scored consecutive baskets to give the Rebels their largest first-half lead at 16-11.
“It was spur of the moment,” Pastner said. “I didn’t like that first group. We got our butts kicked (at Wyoming) and I wasn’t going to watch that again. I got those five guys out in a line change. Those five guys came off the bench, gave us a great lift, got us the lead and did a lot of good things.”
The teams traded leads throughout the second half. UNLV used a 7-0 run to go ahead 51-47 midway through the half, and Gibbs Lawhorn’s free throws with 5:33 left made it 58-54. But Colorado State closed with a decisive run, attacking the basket and capitalizing on UNLV’s foul trouble.
UNLV returns home to host Boise State at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
