Mack’s career-high 31 points propel UNLV to season opening win

LAS VEGAS – It wasn’t always pretty, but Sebastian Mack made it memorable.

The newcomer poured in a career-high 31 points as the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels completed a successful second-half comeback, taking down the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 89-77 in their season opener at Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday night.

Advertisement

A senior, Mack is an offseason transfer from Missouri, but his UNLV debut on Las Vegas soil was more like a homecoming. He was a four-year standout at Coronado High in Henderson before graduating in 2023.

Mack’s performance certainly resembled that of somebody comfortable with where they’re at.

“[Being able to come back and perform] has been great,” he said. “Seeing all my family and friends come and support, bringing that attention to UNLV has been good for me. It’s the best decision I’ve made.”

Mack led all scorers at halftime with 17 points — with the Rebels trailing 47-43 — and picked up right where he left off after the interval, adding 14 more to propel his team to victory.

Advertisement

He shot 10-for-20 from the field and 4-for-9 from three, converting seven of eight free throw attempts. Afterward, Mack cut a calm figure and didn’t pay his individual accomplishment much mind. He was focused on one thing.

“The only thing I’m going to look at is the win,” he said. “First one of the season, and we’re just going to try to build off that.”

The victory was hard-earned in the end, though in the early stages of the game it felt like the Rebels would be no match for their opposition.

UNLV came flying out of the gates, building a quick 13-4 lead punctuated by a 24-foot triple from Cam Miles, set up by an offensive rebound and kick-out from Tyrin Jones followed by a swing pass from Dontrez Williams.

Advertisement

However, the Lumberjacks responded with a 17-4 run of their own and led by as many as 12 later in the first period.

One of 11 newcomers, freshman guard Kota Suttle Jr. — who was dubbed MVP of the second half by second-year head coach Josh Pastner — put…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/macks-career-high-31-points-074907064.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-11-04 07:49:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.