Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV basketball slips at Air Force, 69-62

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Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger calls out from the sidelines during a NCAA basketball game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022.

UNLV’s recent history when traveling to Air Force was a bit worrisome heading into Thursday’s game, and the Falcons proved troublesome again, knocking off Kevin Kruger’s squad, 69-62.

The Scarlet and Gray jumped out to a 12-3 lead, but Air Force battled back and consistently carved up the UNLV defense, shooting 50% for the game.

UNLV is now 10-8 on the season and 2-3 in Mountain West play.

Drought hurts

Extended offensive droughts were a recurring problem for UNLV in nonconference play, but it seemed like the Scarlet and Gray had put that issue behind them ever since Donovan Williams joined the starting lineup. With Williams serving as a legit No. 2 scoring option alongside Bryce Hamilton, UNLV has largely been able to avoid too many harmful droughts over the past month or so.

Then UNLV went the final 10 minutes of the first half at Air Force without a field goal, allowing the Falcons to close on a 16-4 run.

That ugly stretch let Air Force take control of the game and head into the break with a 33-25 lead, and it was an uphill struggle for UNLV the rest of the way. The Scarlet and Gray cut the deficit to four points on two separate occasions in the second half, but never got closer than that.

UNLV went 0-of-7 from the field to end the first half, with four turnovers mixed in. Their only points came via free throws from Hamilton and Williams.

It’s fair to say that lengthy offensive drought changed the game and cost UNLV a chance to win.

Depth disappoints

It’s too simplistic to use the absence of a single player to explain an ugly loss to an inferior opponent, but UNLV clearly missed Josh Baker.

The junior guard doesn’t post eye-popping stats — he’s averaging just 4.8 points and 1.6 assists in 20.5 minutes per game — but Kevin Kruger has made a point several times this season to detail how Baker does the little things to help keep UNLV on track at both ends of the court. And they certainly looked lost without him; UNLV committed 12 turnovers and managed just six assists on offense, and Air Force shot 50.0% from the field.

And without Baker in the starting lineup, UNLV got no production from its depth players. After playing so well in combining for 26 points just a few days ago at San Jose State, guards Mike Nuga and Justin Webster struggled to pick up the slack. Nuga was elevated to the starting lineup in place of Baker but scored three points in 22 minutes. Webster logged 13 minutes off the bench and went scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting.

Baker missed the game due to a concussion, and that’s a difficult injury to predict a timetable for return. UNLV will certainly hope he makes it back on the court soon, especially with two more games in the next four days.

First upset

Through the first 17 games of the season UNLV clung to a distinct pattern: They beat the teams they were supposed to beat. All 10 of their victories came against lesser opponents, and that was something of a modest feather in the cap of first-year head coach Kevin Kruger.

That came to an end on Thursday against Air Force. UNLV entered the contest as a 5.5-point favorite and quickly found itself down by eight points at halftime. Air Force led by as many as 14 in the second half, and though Hamilton and Williams tried to bring UNLV back (32 and 19 points, respectively), the rest of the squad combined to score just 11 points. No one else managed more than four points.

UNLV will have a chance to get back on track and even its conference record on Saturday, when they host San Jose State.

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

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