AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Just when the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels were about to make a game of it, Tim Anderson took over and made sure the Air Force Falcons didn’t falter.
Anderson scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, including 14 straight during one stretch, as the Falcons beat UNLV 65-53 on Saturday.
Anderson was responsible for 16 of the Falcons’ 19 points as they pulled away at 56-39 with 7:22 remaining, and the Rebels never were able to cut their deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
Keith Maren added nine points, six rebounds and six assists for the Falcons (9-6, 1-1 Mountain West), who handed their coach, Jeff Reynolds, his first conference victory.
Led by Anderson, who sank all six of his second-half shots, the Falcons outshot UNLV 62 percent to 36 percent.
“He’s a great competitor,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “Throughout the game, but especially during that stretch, he made some great plays. He finished some plays and increased the margin. Anderson was a good player last year, he’s a good player this year. He’s leading the team in what they’re doing and doing a great job of it.”
The Rebels (12-4, 1-1) got 12 points from Curtis Terry and 11 from Wink Adams, but both struggled with Air Force’s tough defense. Terry was 4-for-13 from the floor and Adams 3-for-14, including 1-for-9 from beyond the arc. Terry was 3-for-9 from long-range.
“Air Force was sharp, and we weren’t,” Kruger said. “Credit Air Force with a lot of that. They had their way with pretty much anything they wanted to do offensively. Anderson was great. Jeff really had his team primed to play and compete really hard, which they always do.”
The Falcons led 32-25 at halftime and their lead was never seriously threatened in the second half, when they made 10 of their 15 shots from the floor.
Evan Washington added seven points and Andrew Henke and Matt Holland scored six points each. Corey Baily and Joe Darger each added nine points for the Rebels.
“Our defense helped us tonight,” Reynolds said. “If we can play defense like we did tonight and shoot it well, we can be very competitive, especially at home.”
