Air Force Academy
UNLV
Air Force downs UNLV, 81-58
2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2017
Senior Hayden Graham had a historic night to lead Air Force past UNLV, 81-58, Wednesday night in a Mountain West game at Clune Arena. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the Falcons.
Graham scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to surpass the 500-rebound mark for his career and become the eighth player in Air Force history with 1,000-plus points and 500-plus rebounds. He became the 24th player in school history to hit the century mark earlier this season and now has 1,048 points and 501 rebounds in his career.
Fellow senior Zach Kocur got the Falcons rolling early, scoring the first nine points for Air Force with three 3-pointers as the Falcons build an early 14-4 lead. UNLV used a 9-0 run to take its first lead, 21-20, with 9:57 remaining in the half. The Falcons took the lead for good, 27-26, on a three-point play by Frank Toohey with 3:23 remaining in the first stanza. The three-point play keyed a 14-2 run to close the half and give Air Force a 38-28 halftime lead.
Air Force used a 12-5 spurt to open the second half to take a 50-33 lead with 15:37 left. UNLV was never able to get closer than 13 points after that. Air Force built to the lead to as many as 27 points, 75-48, with 5:05 to play. The 27-point lead is the biggest by the Falcons in a conference game this season.
Kocur finished with 16 points, while Pervis Louder matched his career high with 13 points. Freshman Lavelle Scottie added a career-high 12 points and Jacob Van chipped in with 10 points and a team-best four assists.
The Falcons finished the game hitting 47.4 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from three, hitting a season-best 14 3-pointers. Air Force out-rebounded UNLV, 34-30, and forced 15 turnovers while turning it over just 10 times. Air Force had 20 assists and 27 field goals.
UNLV hit just 38.0 percent from the field, including 33.3 from three. Tyrell Green led the Runnin' Rebels with 11 points. Jalen Poyser and Jovan Mooring chipped in with 10 points each.
"This was not unexpected because of what we did yesterday in practice and what we did Monday in practice," Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich said. "It started on Sunday with what we talked about when we got home from San Jose. These guys have not quite. They have not checked it in. They have continued to work hard and they want to get better. They get frustrated at times, but they work. To see them get the benefits of their hard work was satisfying."
Air Force improves to 11-17 overall and 4-11 in Mountain West play. UNLV falls to 10-18 overall and 3-12 in the conference.
