AIR FORCE ACADEMY — With a barrage of 3-point field goals from starting forward Joe Darger and guard Kendall Wallace off the bench, Nevada-Las Vegas had too much firepower for slumping Air Force to handle Saturday.
With Darger victimizing the Falcons early with 3-point shots and Wallace picking up the pace later with five 3-pointers, the Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak at Clune Arena, beating the Falcons 59-38.
With the victory, the Rebels (17-4, 5-2 Mountain West Conference) brought Air Force (9-11, 0-7) to within a game of going winless through the first half of conference play.
While he acknowledged the 3-point shooting was a factor, UNLV coach Lon Kruger dug deeper in handing out the praise, noting the 11 assists by guard Tre’Von Willis.
“Tre’Von made some good plays for us in terms of drawing the defense in and kicking the ball out and getting some good looks for our 3-point shooters,” Kruger said. “Kendall (15 points) and Joe (game-high 18 points) did a good job for us. You have to make shots against them because they do a good job with their awareness. We haven’t made shots in here before, and it felt good to come in here and do that.”
It was Darger’s 3-pointer with 6:44 left in the first half that boosted the Rebels to a 15-13 advantage and into the lead for good.
“Darger and Wallace got a lot of open looks,” Air Force forward Matt Holland said. “We haven’t been tough enough lately. We need to be more effective on offense and have more energy and enthusiasm up and down the court to be successful.”
Holland was the only player in double figures (13 points) for the Falcons, who committed 16 turnovers.
Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds switched up his rotation, with freshmen center Sammy Schafer, forward Taylor Stewart and guards Brandon Provost and Shawn Hempsey getting considerable playing time off the bench. They combined for 10 points in 71 minutes of court time. But UNLV’s bench scored 24 points.
The Falcons complete the first half of their conference schedule Tuesday night at home against BYU.
UNLV (17-4, 5-2 MWC)
Santee 1-1 0-0 2, Darger 7-12 0-0 18, Adams 5-9 2-2 13, Rougeau 0-1 0-0 0, Willis 0-6 2-4 2, Bellfield 0-4 1-2 1, Wallace 5-9 0-0 15, Rutledge 1-2 0-0 3, Hoffman 1-2 0-0 3, Massamba 0-1 2-2 2, Ketchum 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 20-48 7-11 59.
AIR FORCE (9-11, 0-7)
Henke 2-9 2-2 7, Holland 5-10 0-0 13, Parker 0-2 0-0 0, Washington 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 2-4 2-2 6, Provost 0-2 0-0 0, Stewart 2-4 0-1 5, Hempsey 0-0 1-2 1, McLain 0-0 0-0 0, Schafer 1-3 2-5 4. Totals 13-37 7-12 38.
Halftime — UNLV 29-19. 3-point goals — UNLV 12-30 (Wallace 5-9, Darger 4-9, Hoffman 1-2, Adams 1-2, Rutledge 1-2, Bellfield 0-3, Willis 0-3), Air Force 5-20 (Holland 3-7, Stewart 1-1, Henke 1-6, Schafer 0-1, Parker 0-1, Provost 0-2, Washington 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — UNLV 33 (Darger 7), Air Force 25 (Johnson 6). Assists — UNLV 17 (Willis 11), Air Force 11 (Johnson 4). Total fouls — UNLV 13, Air Force 13. A — 4,020.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
