The Boise State Broncos men’s basketball team experienced a gut-wrenching overtime defeat at home on Friday night, falling 86-83 to the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in a Mountain West Conference showdown that had all the drama, momentum swings, and heartbreak a fan could imagine. For the Broncos, it was a night that started with fireworks but ended with frustration, as a commanding early lead slipped away and the Rebels, led by a career night from Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, staged an improbable comeback.
It’s hard to overstate how hot Boise State came out of the gates at ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos jumped out to a jaw-dropping 32-9 lead in the first half, looking every bit like a team in control and determined to avenge their earlier overtime loss to UNLV this season. The home crowd was buzzing, and head coach Leon Rice’s squad seemed poised to bury the Rebels early.
But basketball is a game of runs, and UNLV proved that no lead is truly safe. By halftime, the Rebels had cut the deficit to 40-29, thanks to a late surge that set the tone for the rest of the night. Boise State’s inability to keep their foot on the gas in those final minutes of the first half would come back to haunt them.
“In that first half, we had a chance to kind of even bury them,” Broncos head coach Leon Rice said after the game. “It seems like they played with a little bit more intensity in that gap at the end of the first half and got it back to (an 11-point deficit) instead of us moving it back to 20. You go into half up 20, it’s a little bit different. I think that was a crucial stretch.”
As the second half unfolded, the Rebels’ confidence grew with every possession. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, the Illinois transfer and Mountain West’s leading scorer, caught fire. He tallied just nine points in the first half but exploded for 25 in the second, finishing with a career-high 36 points on 13-for-22 shooting, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Gibbs-Lawhorn’s three-pointer with just 38 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 77, sending the contest into overtime and stunning the Boise State faithful.
“He sees that ball go in … I thought a crucial play was when AG (Neto) fouled him in the corner and he gets those three free throws, and that kind of opened up the floodgate for him,” Rice reflected, pointing to the moment Gibbs-Lawhorn’s scoring binge began in earnest.
In the overtime period, UNLV’s Issac Williamson delivered a clutch three points, while Kimani Hamilton chipped in 13 points (shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep), and freshman Tyrin Jones contributed 12 points, five rebounds, and four blocks off the bench. It was truly a team effort, but the spotlight belonged to Gibbs-Lawhorn, whose relentless attacking and shot-making proved too much for Boise State to contain.
For Boise State, the loss was a bitter pill, especially after such a brilliant start. Drew Fielder, the Georgetown transfer who’s been a revelation for the Broncos this season, led the team with 27 points and six rebounds. Pearson Carmichael added 16 points, and Dylan Andrews, the former UCLA point guard, finished with 12 points and five assists. The Broncos’ depth was on display, but down the stretch, their offense sputtered at the worst possible time.
Rice lamented the missed opportunities to get to the free-throw line and capitalize on post-up chances late in the game. “At that point of the game, they were heating us up defensively. We got some free throws here and there, but they weren’t in the bonus at a critical time. We have a great post-up, get the ball to (Javan Buchanan), and then they call the foul when he’s got the lane and you’re just like ‘Hold your whistle one second there and let him lay it in!’ They did a good job of battling our posts because they weren’t close to the bonus so they didn’t care if they fouled. We have to be able to get to the free throw line at that time when we are struggling. That’s usually what we do. But we drove a few times and came up with nothing.”
This loss marks the second time this season Boise State has fallen to UNLV in overtime, with the Rebels previously prevailing 89-85 in Las Vegas back in January. The defeat drops Boise State’s record to 15-10 overall and 7-7 in the Mountain West, while UNLV improves to 13-12 and 8-6 in league play. For Boise State, it’s a setback in a season that had been trending upward after the team rebounded from a rocky start—having won six of seven before this game after losing five of their first six conference matchups.
On the bright side, the Broncos’ talented transfers continue to shine. Fielder remains the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.5 points and 5.4 boards per game, while Andrews has been a steady presence at point guard, ranking seventh in the conference with 81 assists and averaging 12.3 points. Carmichael, still just a sophomore, is growing into a key contributor, and the bench depth provided by players like Dominic Parolin, Spencer Ahrens, and RJ Keene gives Rice plenty of options moving forward.
UNLV, meanwhile, is showing real signs of life after a midseason slump. The Rebels came into this contest having just snapped a four-game losing streak with back-to-back wins, including an 80-78 upset of Grand Canyon and an 82-75 victory over San Jose State, where Gibbs-Lawhorn poured in 24 points and Hamilton notched a double-double. With Gibbs-Lawhorn averaging 18.7 points per game—and a blistering 23.3 over the last seven—UNLV has the scoring punch to make noise down the stretch.
As for Boise State, Rice remains optimistic about his team’s resilience. “Our guys always respond. They’re disappointed and heartbroken. That was a tough one because we played great at the start of that game and we had some great minutes … and boom, it turned quick at the end down the stretch.”
The Broncos will need to regroup quickly as they look ahead to their next matchup against Utah State. With the Mountain West standings tightening and every game carrying postseason implications, there’s little time to dwell on what might have been. Boise State’s mix of veteran savvy and youthful energy gives them hope, but as Friday night proved, closing out games against determined opponents is a challenge that can’t be overlooked.
For UNLV, the win not only boosts their conference record but serves as a statement that this team, led by a dynamic scorer in Gibbs-Lawhorn, can compete with anyone in the Mountain West. The Rebels’ ability to claw back from a massive deficit on the road is a testament to their grit and growing chemistry. As the regular season winds down, both teams will be eager to prove they belong in the NCAA Tournament conversation—and if Friday’s thriller was any indication, there’s plenty of drama left to unfold.