Ogbole sets career highs with 21 points, 13 boards and Rutgers beats UNLV to end Players Era tourney

By Canadian Press on November 27, 2025.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Emmanuel Ogbole set career highs with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Dylan Grant added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Rutgers ended a three-game losing streak with an 80-65 victory over UNLV on Thursday to conclude the Players Era tournament.

Rutgers trailed 39-33 at halftime before scoring the opening 11 points of the second half, with seven points from Grant, for a five-point lead. Ogbole’s dunk with 10 minutes left put Rutgers ahead by double-digits for good at 57-47.

Grant reached 14 second-half points with 6:12 remaining, while UNLV had just 13 points on 4-of-21 shooting. Darren Buchanan Jr. scored all 15 of his points in the second half as Rutgers made 11 of 23 field goals and 22 of 27 free throws in a 47-point half.

Tariq Francis added 11 points for Rutgers (5-3), which was coming off losses to Central Connecticut, then-No. 17 Tennessee and Notre Dame.

Tyrin Jones, Kimani Hamilton and Al Green all scored 13 points apiece for UNLV (3-5). Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added 10 points. UNLV did not have a timeout for the final 10 minutes.

Up next

UNLV: Has a week off before playing at Stanford on Dec. 7.

Rutgers: Begins a tough two-game stretch against No. 1 Purdue on Tuesday and No. 7 Michigan on Dec. 6. Then the Scarlet Knights close the year with games against Seton Hall, Pennsylvania and Delaware State.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Associated Press

12
-11