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Every time the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels appear to pick up steam with a resume-building win, the program suffers a setback in the form of a debilitating loss.
Air Force throttled UNLV, 90-58, Tuesday, Jan. 23 from the Thomas & Mack Center to earn its first conference win in six tries. Coming into play, the Rebels had won eight straight over the Falcons and had not lost at home since 2013.
In addition, Air Force was entering the contest coming off eight straight losses.
“As a team, we didn’t take them seriously at all,” fifth-year forward Keylan Boone said. “And that’s our fault. We didn’t come out with the right mentality, right mindset. It’s not just one day of it, it was the whole prep of it, we could’ve been better in our prep.”
That makes it three losses at home for UNLV through its first nine outings from inside the T&M Center. Last season’s team was just two games better than .500 in home games.
Overall, this year’s Rebel group is 9-9 with 12 more games listed on the regular season schedule. Additionally, the team is 2-4 in the Mountain West and are currently still slotted in the eight spot of the league standings.
“We’ve just got to come out and be better,” Boone said. “Be more locked in, be more focused. We’re at a point in the season where we need every win and we need every game and we didn’t show that tonight so we’ve got to pay for that one.”
UNLV will now have to head to the road with hopes of righting the ship with a date scheduled against San Jose State Saturday, Jan. 27 from the Provident Credit Union Event Center. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. in California.
Things got out of hand quickly in the team’s latest loss to Air Force, as the visitors came out and stormed into an 8-2 start to the game. That lead would swell to double-digits and would be 23 points before the end of the first half.
It was bombs away early and often for the Falcons as the team eventually shot 14-of-28 from three-point range including eight in the second half. This was coupled with a stout defensive effort that prevented the Rebs from matching the long range output of its opponent.
UNLV didn’t connect on its first made three until just under five minutes left in the first half. Before that the team was 0-for-11 from deep.
That defensive effort translated to the second half as the Rebels went more than three minutes without a point in the middle of the 20-minute session. During that time, the Falcons went on a 10-0 lead to snatch their largest lead of the game at 24 points.
Air Force would ultimately lead by as many as 37 points en route to the 32-point victory.
“We’ll try to find out exactly why,” head coach Kevin Kruger said. “It’s hard with a million things running through my brain right now but we’ll meet as a staff and try to figure out what we can do differently.”
Everything was clicking on offense for the Falcons as the team racked up 25 assists on 31 made field goals. Sophomore Rytis Petraitis recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Not much went the way UNLV had hoped on both ends of the floor in what eventually became the team’s fourth loss in its last six appearances. The team was boosted by five straight points late in the first half by fifth-year guard Justin Webster, who scored eight in the first half.
Webster would have a much stronger start to the second half but would leave after turning his left ankle on a reverse layup attempt. He’d leave the game with 14 points but would have to be carried off by members of the Rebels training staff.
Boone crossed over into double-figure scoring late in regulation along with junior forward Rob Whaley Jr. The former finished with 11 points while the latter added 11 of his own.