UNLV Rebels @ Air Force Falcons Basketball Recap

UNLV 64, Air Force 52

It’s only the midpoint of the college basketball season, but while some teams are playing for seeding and positioning in the NCAA Tournament, most of the 348 Division I-A programs in the United States are focused on the battle to merely reach the Big Dance. While the likes of Duke, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Kansas fight for No. 1 seeds in March Madness, most schools are simply trying to crack the field of 68.

On Saturday in the heart of the Rockies, one of those teams avoided what would have been a terrible loss that would have placed an at-large bid in serious jeopardy.

The Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels shook off a tough loss to highly-ranked San Diego State on Wednesday to defeat the Air Force Falcons at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs on Saturday night.  Head coach Lon Kruger's Rebels finally got a strong performance from Chase Stanback, who had been struggling as of late. Stanback scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists.

It’s a good thing he did; without a step-up showing from Stanback, Vegas might have been vanquished by an Air Force club that’s languishing in the bottom third of the Mountain West, just as it normally does.

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Air Force led for much of the contest, even leading by as many as five points with less than eight minutes remaining in the matchup.  Tom Fow again led the Academy in scoring with 12.  The Falcons had a great chance at scoring the upset, but simply couldn't hit from the free-throw line.  Air Force hit on just 12-of-24 free-throw attempts.  Michael Lyons added 10 points of his own for the Falcons in a losing effort.

Precisely because Air Force doesn’t carry its own weight in the Mountain West, a loss to the Falcons and Coach Jeff Reynolds would have sent UNLV’s RPI rating plummeting downward. Vegas had already absorbed a bad loss to UC-Santa Barbara earlier this season. True, Kruger’s kids had knocked off Wisconsin and Kansas State, but a loss to Air Force – which also would have saddled the Rebels with a 1-3 league record – was not something the Rebels could afford… not with two months remaining in the season. UNLV needs an upper-division finish (top-four at minimum) to secure an at-large NCAA bid. A mid-January loss to a tomato can would have put that pursuit in jeopardy. Mr. Stanback truly saved the day with his fabulous flourish.

Beyond Stanback's performance, the Rebels' Anthony Marshall and Oscar Bellfield each scored 12 points apiece.  Trailing late in the contest, the Rebel defense buoyed up and solidified, holding the Falcons without a made basket for more than six minutes.  On the offensive side, the Rebels finished with a flurry, going on a 13-0 run during the same span to seal the victory… the victory that temporarily saved UNLV’s season. 

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer