Emmanuel Stephen had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his UNLV debut and Kimani Hamilton made the game-winning free throw with 3.8 seconds left to give the Rebels a come-from-behind 75-74 nonconference stunner over host Stanford on Sunday.
Hamilton and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn each posted 15 points for the Runnin’ Rebels (4-5), who ended a three-game losing skid. UNLV shot 48.3% from the field as it improved to 2-0 on the road this year.
Ebuka Okorie had 18 points and Oskar Giltay posted a game-high 14 rebounds with nine points for the Cardinal (7-2), who dropped their second game at home this season.
Ryan Agarwal added 13 points and Benny Gealer had 11. They each made three 3-pointers.
Jeremy Dent-Smith’s layup gave Stanford a 64-63 lead with 5:06 remaining, then his two free throws extended the lead to 70-66 with 2:58 to play. But Tyrin Jones and Gibbs-Lawhorn drew four straight shooting fouls and made 6 of 8 from the foul line to take a 72-70 lead with 1:02 to play.
Okorie’s three-point play restored Stanford’s edge at 73-72, but Hamilton scored in the paint to put UNLV back on top. Okorie was sent to the line and missed the first free throw but made the second to tie the game.
Hamilton drove toward the basket and drew a shooting foul with 3.8 seconds left. He missed the first, but made the second to take the 1-point lead. Okorie jetted upcourt and missed a buzzer-beating runner to seal the Rebels’ victory.
Gealer opened up the game’s scoring with a 3-point shot and Agarwal sank his own shot from beyond the arc to give Stanford a 9-6 lead at the 16:01 mark. Jones tied the game 15-15 with back-to-back layups, but Stanford regained a 20-15 lead thanks to Chisom Okpara’s 3-pointer.
The Cardinal went on a 9-0 run as Agarwal’s second 3-pointer plus Okorie’s free throw extended the lead to 31-22 with 6:25 left in the half. The Rebels responded with a run to cut the margin to 37-36 with less than a minute to play before the break. Stephen’s dunk at the buzzer brought UNLV within 39-38 at intermission.
Stephen, a 7-foot sophomore transfer from Arizona, hit a jump shot to open up the second half that gave UNLV its first lead of the game at 40-39. The Rebels took a 51-48 advantage with 14:06 to play.
Stanford kept the score close but ran into turnover trouble, and Al Green’s shot from beyond the arc gave UNLV a 61-60 advantage with 8:31 remaining in the half.
–Field Level Media
