Perfect start. Perfect homestand. UNLV beat Stanford 76-68 on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, 4505 S Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154, to reach 3-0 for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
Stanford arrived unbeaten at 3-0. The Cardinal left 3-1 with their first loss of the season.
Cam Miles led UNLV with 17 points, including four 3-pointers for the second straight game. Tyrin Jones added 16 points and six rebounds, and Sebastian Mack added 15 points, five rebounds and a game-high five assists.
The Run That Built an 18-Point Lead
Tied at 14 with 11:43 left in the first half, UNLV ripped off a 13-0 run. Stanford went scoreless for 4:19 during the stretch.
The lead hit 27-14 with 7:56 to play. Then it kept growing.
A Miles 3-pointer made it 36-18 with 3:48 left in the half, the largest lead of the game. Stanford closed the half on a 15-3 run to cut it to 39-33 at the break.
Stanford Came All the Way Back, Almost
Stanford kept pushing after halftime and pulled within one point at 45-44 with 14:20 remaining. UNLV answered and pushed the lead back to nine at 60-51 on a Miles 3-pointer with 9:08 to play.
The Cardinal cut it to three at 69-66 with 2:12 left on a 3-pointer by Aziz Olajuwon. Issac Williamson answered with a 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark to restore the six-point lead.
UNLV held Stanford scoreless from the field the rest of the way. That is how a blown 18-point lead still ends as a win.
The Press Is the Identity, and Kansas Is Next
Second-year head coach Josh Pastner said it plainly after the game: "I love the press. It's our identity. It's who we are."
The numbers back him up. Stanford shot 40.0% from the field and just 3 of 21 from 3-point range, including 0 of 9 in the first half.
- UNLV shot a season-high 57.8% from the field, 26 of 45
- UNLV hit 58.3% from 3-point range, 7 of 12
- Freshman Jackson Kiss blocked four shots as UNLV totaled six blocks
- UNLV won the fast-break battle 20-15 and the rebounding battle 30-29
- The win evened the all-time series with Stanford at 3-3
Austin Maurer led all scorers with a career-high 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting for Stanford, plus nine rebounds. Julius Price added 16 points and Nick Townsend scored 11.
Next test, and it is a big one: UNLV opens Players Era 8 play against No. 15/14 Kansas on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. A 3-0 start earned the Rebels that stage. Now they get to find out how real it is.
