November 6, 2026 - 8:36 pm

UNLV , which hosts Samford on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, opened its 2026-27 season with an 89-77 win over Northern Arizona on Tuesday, led by a career-high 31-point performance from Missouri transfer guard Sebastian Mack.

For Mack, the performance marked another step in his return to Las Vegas, where he spent his high school career at Coronado. The 6-foot-3 Chicago native averaged 24 points, six rebounds and 5.5 assists during his senior season with the Cougars and was named the Nevada Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year in 2023.

After spending two seasons at UCLA and one with the Tigers, Mack has returned home looking to help UNLV coach Josh Pastner re-establish a winning culture for a Runnin’ Rebels program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2013.

Through three exhibition games and the season opener, Mack has been the Rebels’ leading scorer, averaging 25.25 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point…