Live blog: Rebels win fourth straight

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 | 5 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 | 9:09 p.m.

As unlikely as it may have sounded a few weeks ago, the Runnin' Rebels are now one of hottest teams in the Mountain West. 

UNLV just wrapped up a 71-59 win over Air Force to improve to 3-0 in league play and 8-8 overall. It's the fourth straight win for the Rebels, with all four coming by double-digit margins.

Amauri Hardy (21 points) and Bryce Hamilton (15) carried the load offensively, while Mbacke Diong totaled 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Defensively, UNLV clamped down after Air Force got off to a hot start and held the Falcons to 34.6 percent for the game. 

UNLV will now head on the road for games at Boise State (Wednesday) and Wyoming (Saturday). 

UNLV leads Air Force, 51-38

The Rebels continue to play spirited defense in the second half, and with 11:36 remaining they've got a 51-38 lead over Air Force.

One development: Junior forward Donnie Tillman is not playing, and the team has only announced that it's not injury-related. That makes it sound as though Tillman is being disciplined again, for the third time this season.

Amauri Hardy is carrying the UNLV offense with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and the Rebels are taking care of the glass with a 35-26 rebounding advantage.

Rebels lead Air Force at half

UNLV ended the first half on a 24-7 run, and the Rebels have taken a 34-27 lead into the locker room.

T.J. Otzelberger played some smaller lineups after Air Force torched the Rebels from beyond the arc in the opening minutes, and that seemed to help. UNLV's defense turned up the pressure as the half went on, holding AFA to 1-of-9 from the arc after a 5-of-5 start. The Rebels forced 10 turnovers in the half while only committing five themselves.

Offensively, Amauri Hardy paced UNLV with eight points, while Mbacke Diong added seven points and four rebounds.

Junior forward Donnie Tillman did not start and did not play in the first half. He has been disciplined twice this season for lateness, with Otzelberger yanking him from the starting lineup both times. There has been no word on the reason for his benching tonight.

Rebels storming back against Air Force

Whatever adjustments T.J. Otzelberger made must have worked like a charm, as the Rebels have rolled off a 17-0 run to jump ahead of Air Force late in the half. With 3:39 before the break, the Rebels now lead, 27-20.

Air Force has gone more than six minutes without scoring. During that time, Amauri Hardy has scored eight points to power the early comeback.

After hitting their first five 3-pointers, Air Force has gone 0-of-7. The Falcons are now shooting 35.0 percent for the game.

Air Force shooting lights out against UNLV

The worst-case scenario is unfolding for UNLV early on, as Air Force is spreading the floor and hitting every shot in sight. With 10:53 left in the half, the Falcons have a 19-10 lead.

UNLV's starting lineup had trouble extending out to shooters, so T.J. Otzelberger has gone with smaller alignments of late. But Air Force feasted in the opening minutes, hitting its first five 3-point attempts to build a double-digit lead.

Air Force is 7-of-12 from the field overall, while UNLV has made 4-of-14.

Three keys for UNLV basketball vs. Air Force

UNLV finds itself in a tricky position. The Rebels are coming off an inspiring win over Utah State and have a tough road text at Boise State looming on Wednesday, but in between they'll host Air Force on Saturday in a classic look-ahead spot.

This doesn't have to be a trap game for the Rebels, however. If they play with the same kind of intensity the unleashed against Utah State, they should be able to take care of Air Force and improve to 3-0 in Mountain West play.

Three keys for UNLV:

Defend with effort

Air Force is an elite scoring team. In halfcourt possessions, the Falcons average 1.035 points per possession, which is second in the entire nation. Some of that can be attributed to a strength of schedule that ranks in the bottom 50, but AFA executes at a high level — the Falcons rank third in 3-point shooting (42.6 percent) and 29^th in free-throw attempts (17.4 per game). They've got five players shooting above 36 percent from beyond the arc, so it will take a team-wide effort from UNLV in order to slow that attack.

Offensive glass

UNLV pounded Utah State inside and grabbed 42.4 percent of all available offensive rebounds, which was a huge factor in the Rebels' upset win. It might not be so easy on Saturday against an Air Force team that has statistically ranked as one of the country's better defensive-rebounding teams (78.1 percent defensive rebound rate, 39^th). If Mbacke Diong and the rest of the Rebels can secure double-digit extra possessions, their chances of victory will go up exponentially.

Go deep

Air Force is going to make 3-pointers, probably 10 or more. Good defense can only go so far to counter that — UNLV is going to have to make some of their own long-distance shots in order to keep pace. That means Jonah Antonio and Amauri Hardy have to be on-target. Hardy made 2-of-4 from 3-point range against Utah State, while Antonio made 2-of-8; the rest of the Rebels went 1-of-7. UNLV's two high-volume shooters have to come through.

TV: ESPNU, 7 p.m.

UNLV: 7-8, 2-0 MWC (KenPom No. 156)

Coach: T.J. Otzelberger

Leading scorer: Amauri Hardy, 15.1 points per game

Leading rebounder: Mbacke Diong, 9.4 rebounds per game

Leading assists: Elijah Mitrou-Long, 3.8 assists per game

Air Force: 7-7, 1-1 MWC (KenPom No. 177)

Coach: Dave Pilipovich

Leading scorer: Lavelle Scottie, 14.2 points per game

Leading rebounder: Lavelle Scottie, 5.4 rebounds per game

Leading assists: A.J. Walker, 2.8 assists per game

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.