Air Force Academy
UNLV
UNLV hangs on to beat Air Force
2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jovan Mooring scored 24 points to lead five Runnin' Rebels in double figures as UNLV defeated Air Force, 81-73, Wednesday night in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Mooring hit a deep 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining to start a 10-1 run to propel UNLV to a 77-67 advantage with 48 second remaining. The Falcons hit a pair of threes from there, but the Runnin' Rebels hit four of six free throws from in the final 34 seconds to hang on to the win.
Air Force opened the game hitting just two of its first 11 shots and UNLV build a 19-5 lead with 9:38 left in the first half. The Rebels built the lead to 15 points, 23-8, with 8:18 left. The Falcons got some shots to fall and cut the lead to 31-25 at the half. Air Force was never able to overtake UNLV, but cut the lead to one point on multiple occasions in the second half, the last coming at 67-66 with 2:41 left before Mooring's three to start the UNLV run.
Mooring hit 7-12 field goals, including 5-9 from three, and had five assists. Tervell Beck and Jordan Johnson added 16 points each while Kris Clyburn and Brandon McCoy each chipped in with 10 points. UNLV hit 44.6 percent from the field, but 52.9 from three on 9-17 shooting. The Runnin' Rebels out-rebounded Air Force, 52-25. McCoy led the way with a game-high 13 rebounds while Shakur Juiston added 12.
Air Force was led by senior Trevor Lyons, who scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. Ryan Swan added 16 points and Lavelle Scottie and Ryan Manning had 11 points each. The Falcons hit just 40.6 percent from the field, but matched a season-high with 13 threes and hit 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Falcons assisted on 19 of 26 field goals and had just eight turnovers.
Lyons became the 25th player in Air Force history to reach the 1,000 point mark for his career and ranks 25th all-time with 1,005 points. He joins his brother, Michael, in the 1,000 point club at the Academy. Michael ranks fourth in school history with 1,527 points from 2009-13. They are the first set of brothers to score 1,000 points each at the Academy and the first set of brothers to do it at the same school in Mountain West history.
Air Force falls to 10-14 overall and 4-8 in the conference. UNLV improves to 19-7 overall and 8-5 in the league. Air Force continues its two-game road trip at Boise State Saturday, Feb. 17, at Noon MT.
