Live blog: Rebels clip Air Force in double overtime

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 | 6:29 p.m.

I'm not quite sure how they did it, but the final buzzer just sounded and the Rebels are ahead, 87-85, so mark this one down (finally) as a win for UNLV in double overtime.

Jovan Mooring finished with 30 points, including some of the biggest shots of the game, and Christian Jones came on strong in the second half, finishing with 15 points. Kris Clyburn also gave the Rebels a huge boost off the bench, contributing six points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

While regulation and the first overtime period ended with buzzer-beaters, there were no last-second heroics at the end of the second OT. With UNLV up by three points, Trevor Lyons missed a corner 3-pointer for Air Force. Jovan Mooring pulled down the rebound, absorbed a foul, and made both free throws to give UNLV a five-point advantage with three seconds to play. Fittingly, Air Force banked in a meaningless 3 at the buzzer, but UNLV escaped with the win.

The Rebels are now 10-10 on the season and 3-4 in Mountain West play. Check back for more coverage after the post-game press conferences.

Rebels, Air Force heading to double overtime

Jovan Mooring tried to play hero again, drilling a ridiculously long 3-pointer to give UNLV a 70-67 lead with 3.6 seconds left in overtime, but Air Force guard Jacob Van took the ensuing inbound pass, raced downcourt and banked in a buzzer-beating 3 to send us to double OT, 70-70.

Mooring now has 22 points, but we'll have to see if the Rebels can bounce back from Van's dagger.

Mooring's miracle 3 sends Rebels to OT

Jovan Mooring banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and UNLV and Air Force are headed to overtime, tied 58-58.

Jalen Poyser intentionally missed a free throw with three seconds left, and Air Force fumbled the rebound out of bounds, giving UNLV one more chance. After multiple timeouts, Marvin Menzies drew up a play that saw Mooring catch the inbound at the top of the key. Mooring dribble to the left wing and launched an off-balance prayer, which kissed off the glass and tied the game, setting off a celebration on the UNLV bench.

UNLV made just 21.9 percent of its shots in the second half, but thanks to Mooring's miracle, the Rebels have a chance to steal this game.

UNLV, Air Force battling in closing minutes

UNLV has regained its sea legs after being staggered by Air Force's big run at the start of the second half, and it looks like we're in store for a close finish, as Air Force has a 47-44 lead with 7:55 to play. Uche Ofoegbu will shoot two free throws for UNLV after the timeout.

The Rebels are just 4-of-21 in the second half, but they're finding ways to hang around. Jalen Poyser and Kris Clyburn have contributed big 3-pointers, and Troy Baxter has given the team a bit of a jolt off the bench.

Air Force may be hampered down the stretch, as star forward Hayden Graham has four fouls. Graham has a game-high 17 points, but he's currently on the bench.

Air Force streaks to second-half lead over Rebels

Air Force is on a 13-0 run and UNLV now finds itself trailing, 38-35, with 14:57 remaining in the second half.

UNLV scored the opening buck after halftime, but the Rebels have missed a couple easy layups since then, and Air Force has gotten hot. Zach Kocur, Trevor Lyons and Hayden Graham have all hit 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the half to propel the Falcons back in front.

Marvin Menzies had to call timeout to stop the bleeding, and now it's up to the Rebels to get the ship righted.

Jovan Mooring shoots UNLV to halftime lead

How hot can Jovan Mooring get?

The junior point guard hit four 3-pointers in the first half, each one deeper than the last until he was practically shooting from the halfcourt logo, and UNLV has a 33-25 lead over Air Force at halftime.

Mooring scored 12 points in the first half and added three assists, and Uche Ofoegbu chipped in eight points and a couple assists. Ofoegbu went 2-of-2 from 3-point range, as he and Mooring combined for all six of UNLV's triples (6-of-17).

The Rebels haven't played great defense, but they held Air Force to 36.7-percent shooting and their matchup zone limited the Falcons to only two made 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Hayden Graham has 12 points for Air Force.

UNLV had great success working the ball inside to Christian Jones and Tyrell Green, then moving it back outside for open 3-point looks. Slumping Jalen Poyser had several open attempts but went 0-of-6 from long distance, but if he can snap out of it in the second half (and Mooring and Ofoegbu stay warm), the Rebels should be able to outpace Air Force over the final 20 minutes.

Rebels heating up early against Air Force

UNLV started slowly on offense, but the Rebels are currently on a 14-5 run and have a 14-12 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first half.

Air Force jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, and the Rebels were struggling to produce open shots against the Air Force defense. But they seem to have settled in, as UNLV has connected on six of its last seven shots. Uche Ofoegbu has five early points, and Jovan Mooring just buried a long 3-pointer from the wing to give UNLV the lead.

If the Rebels can continue moving the ball and exploiting Air Force's shaky interior defense, offense should not be a problem today.

Rebels could be in for shootout against Air Force

Two hours before game time, the only sound here at the Thomas & Mack Center is provided by freshman big man Djordjije Sljivancanin, as the 7-footer is on the court by himself, getting up some extra shots before warmups begin. He's making a surprising amount of his 3-point attempts, and that may be a good omen for the Rebels. Though Sljivancanin probably isn't going to see much playing time today, the rest of the team is going to have to make some long-range shots if UNLV is to beat Air Force.

Outside shooting has been an issue for the Rebels lately, as Jalen Poyser and Tyrell Green have found themselves in deep shooting slumps over the past month. Poyser has made just nine of his last 35 3-point attempts, while Green has connected on just three of his last 26 from deep. Both players need to come back to life soon — Air Force is one of the most dangerous 3-point shooting teams in the conference, with five players hitting at a rate of 36 percent or better. The last time UNLV faced a team with multiple 3-point threats, Utah State canned 13-of-21 and beat the Rebels convincingly, 79-63. UNLV will have to do a better job of finding shooters in transition, and the Rebels will need some of their own shooters to start splashing down again.

Air Force is also known for coach Dave Pilopovich's peculiar brand of offense, which emphasizes precise handoffs and movement away from the ball to create openings for backdoor cuts and those open 3-pointers. Recent Rebels teams struggled to contain Air Force, mostly due to a reliance on man-to-man defense. Marvin Menzies also plays man defense a majority of the time, but he's also thrown in a fair amount of different zone looks, which could help when the Falcons start criss-crossing the court. For the season, UNLV is allowing 0.895 points per possession when playing man defense, but just 0.801 points per possession in zone.

Emerging go-to guy Jovan Mooring will be key against Air Force

With Dwayne Morgan officially sidelined for the season, UNLV’s best player is now … Jovan Mooring?

The very notion would have been scoffed at before the season, or even as recently as a month ago. But despite Mooring’s humble beginnings — he spent last season playing at a Division II junior college — the junior guard has gradually become the Rebels’ most impactful player, so expect the ball to be in his hands a lot when UNLV (9-10, 2-4 in Mountain West play) takes on Air Force (9-10, 2-4) today at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Head coach Marvin Menzies has spent the season trying to mold Mooring into a point guard, and it’s taken some time for Mooring to adjust to life as a distributor after he spent last year staring at the world’s biggest green light (26 points per game for his juco squad). But Mooring is starting to get the hang of it, and he’s making a difference for the Rebels.

Through five conference games, Mooring leads UNLV in scoring (11.7 points per game), assists (4.8), steals (1.7) and made 3-pointers (1.8). He’s also sporting a plus/minus rating of +0.8 per 40 minutes, which trails only Dwayne Morgan (injured) and freshman Zion Morgan (+3.9, but in far fewer minutes).

Menzies understands how important Mooring has made himself to UNLV. That’s why the coach was so disappointed when Mooring got into early foul trouble against San Diego State on Tuesday. Mooring ended up playing just 18 minutes before fouling out — his lowest output since he got just 15 minutes against Duke on Dec. 10 — and UNLV was blown out down the stretch without Mooring on the floor.

After the SDSU loss, Menzies said he would relay a harsh message to his developing point guard.

“You let us down,” Menzies said. “You let us down because you weren’t disciplined enough to play smarter basketball and not foul. We needed you on the floor, son. You tell him the truth: You let us down tonight, and you can’t do it again. You’ve got to be more disciplined than that … But we don’t win at The Pit without him, either. So what are you going to do? Love him and get him ready for the next game.”

The “next game” is today’s afternoon tilt with Air Force, and the Rebels are going to need Mooring to produce. According to Hoop-Math.com, opponents are shooting better than 68 percent around the rim against Air Force, and the Falcons rank 340th in the nation in blocked shots. With Mooring driving and dishing in the pick-and-roll game, UNLV should find plenty of easy looks at the basket.

Defensively, the Rebels will have to deal with the usual Air Force attack centered on motion, dribble hand-offs and backdoor cuts. The Falcons are playing at a faster pace than they have in recent years (KenPom.com still ranks them a modest 209th in adjusted tempo), and they have five players in the rotation making better than 36 percent of their 3-pointers.

Air Force won’t be easy to defend, but UNLV should be able to gain an advantage on the offensive end as long as Mooring continues to play at a high level.

Mike’s prediction: UNLV 80, Air Force 73. Mooring hands out a half-dozen assists, and the Rebels finally get some 3-point production from Jalen Poyser and Tyrell Green.