IRVINE, Calif. — Clinching a winning season in Josh Pastner’s first year as UNLV’s coach with a first-round NIT victory is one thing.
It was the way in which the Rebels clawed out Tuesday’s 75-72 road win against UC Irvine that indicated how players are buying into Pastner’s “winning is more important than breathing” mentality.
“Pastner, he recruits dawgs,” guard Howie Fleming Jr. said. “But the majority of us on the team … people looked over us. They thought we weren’t going to be able to play on a certain level.
“This program’s really all about business. We’re trying to get it done.”
UNLV (18-16) reassembled after receiving an unexpected NIT bid, refocused and delivered a defensive-minded performance. Then as the 18-point lead the Rebels had built in the first half was being whittled down to a one-possession game, they didn’t break. Instead, they made winning plays and withstood the challenge.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, saddled with four fouls with 11 minutes left, rose up to block the potential game-tying 3-point attempt from Jurian Dixon with eight seconds to go.
Tyrin Jones came off the bench to bring energy and contribute 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. His three second-half dunks slowed down UC Irvine’s momentum.
Five Rebels scored in double figures, as Kimani Hamilton led the way with 14, four steals and two blocks.
And Fleming had 12 points and nine rebounds, returning to play a key role after tweaking an ankle on the first possession of the second half after coming up with a steal. Pastner categorized it effort-wise as a floor burn.
“We want to get UNLV Runnin’ Rebel basketball back to being one of the premier programs on the West Coast,” said Pastner, whose team plays at No. 1-seeded Tulsa on Saturday in the NIT second round. “That’s what we want, and we can’t do that being cool, casual or cute or fancy. We’ve got to have toughness and grit and the mentality about that.
“We have tough guys, fighters.”
Pastner, after building his first UNLV roster on the fly, knows there’s more work to be done in recruiting, especially in the transfer portal. So seeing the program notch a win in the recruiting ground of Southern California was particularly meaningful.
The victory against UC Irvine (23-12) came while facing a program that has captured eight of the past 13 Big West regular-season titles, including two NCAA tournament bids during that time under coach Russell Turner. The Rebels shot 53.7% from the field against one of the top defensive teams in the country.
“UNLV was outstanding,” Turner said. “I thought they were really, really ready. Really competitive. I give credit to Coach Pastner and his staff and those guys.”
On the Rebels’ 11 blocked shots, Turner added, “We often do that to other teams. They did that to us tonight. They just took it to us in the first half.”
Pastner praised Turner in the leadup to the game and afterward, saying, “All he does is win.” Though the NET rankings of the two teams this season were similar, UC Irvine as a program has won consistently and with less expenditures.
“The guys on their team get paid a lot more than the guys on our team,” Turner noted. “I’m not crying about that, and I’m not asking anybody to evaluate that. That is what it is.
“We’ve built something here that’s really valuable. UNLV can’t pay for some of what we have as a program that these guys get to be a part of. I know that. That’s why we have guys in our locker room who make the type of sacrifices they do to play here for less than their market rate to be a part of something special.”
Pastner, who added UC Irvine transfer Myles Che this offseason, says he’s looking for recruits with competitive excellence for the Rebels’ future. And if the player just doesn’t have it in that department?
“You can’t play for me,” Pastner said. “It will just never work out.”
A transfer from Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Fleming said, “I think the players that he recruited were all focused on really winning basketball games and elevating their game to the next level. Shoutout to Pastner.”
Contact Diamond Leung at dleung@reviewjournal.com. Follow @diamond83 on X.
