A late UNLV rally fell just short as the Rebels saw their three-game win streak snapped in a 91-86 loss to Colorado State on Wednesday at Thomas & Mack Center.
Kimani Hamilton stepped out of bounds before a 3-point attempt that could have tied the game with 11 seconds left after a steal by UNLV (13-13, 8-7 Mountain West).
The Rams (16-10, 7-8) closed out the game at the free-throw line.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had 31 points to lead the Rebels. It was his seventh game in the past eight outings with at least 25 points. He entered the night as the Mountain West’s top scorer, averaging 19.4 points per game.
Jevin Muniz scored 20 points for Colorado State.
The Rebels’ defense clashed with a tight whistle as they committed 22 fouls and saw the Rams connect on 20 of 27 free throws.
In UNLV’s previous game, it came back from a 23-point deficit to beat Boise State 86-83 in overtime Friday after the Broncos started on a 30-9 run.
The Rebels weren’t as slow to wake up against the Rams on Wednesday but didn’t create enough momentum for another miraculous finish.
UNLV opened on the wrong side of an 11-2 run and then scored nine uninterrupted points punctuated by a 3-pointer by Gibbs-Lawhorn to take a five-point lead with 11:33 left in the first half.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Rebels headed to the locker room with a spark from a buzzer-beating halfcourt shot from Issac Williamson.
UNLV got within 53-51 early in the second half before Colorado State pulled away again.
Kimani Hamilton and Tyrin Jones powered a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to six points with 2:47 left.
Howie Fleming Jr. logged a key steal on one play and a defensive rebound on another to aid Gibbs-Lawhorn’s solo 6-1 run that cut the Rams’ lead to four points with 22 seconds to go, setting up the closing sequence that featured Hamilton’s late out-of-bounds turnover.
Next, UNLV will face Air Force on the road Saturday.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Callie__Fin on X.