Air Force Suffers 78-70 Overtime Loss to UNLV at MW Championships

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Tenth-seeded Air Force fell 78-70 to seventh-seeded UNLV (19-12) in overtime in the opening round of play at the 2023 Mountain West Men's Basketball Championships Wednesday afternoon at Thomas & Mack Center. The Falcons were eliminated from the tournament and cap the season with a 14-18 overall record.

The trio of Jake Heidbreder, Carter Murphy and Rytis Petraitis combined to score 57 points for the Falcons, but it was not enough as the Rebels came away with the win.

Elijah Harkless scored 35 points to lead UNLV. Harkless got to the free throw line 18 times in the game.

With the game tied up with 11 seconds remaining in regulation the Falcons had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Senior Carter Murphy got caught on the baseline underneath the basket and a loose ball was deflected off his knee to force a turnover. UNLV then missed the half-court shot to send the game to overtime.

UNLV then out-scored Air Force 21-13 in overtime.

The game was back and forth the whole way, featuring 10 lead changes and seven ties. UNLV led by seven in both the first and second halves, but Air Force rallied both times, even taking leads several times.

Heidbreder led Air Force with 24 points and a career-high nine rebounds in 45 minutes played. Heidbreder also tied a career-high with five three's. He finished the season with 75 three's to rank seventh most in a season at Air Force.

Murphy scored a career-high 19 points. He played over 40 minutes and dished out five assists, both career-high's. Murphy capped a strong finish to his career by reaching double figures in scoring for the seventh consecutive game.

Petraitis capped a standout freshman season by scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double for the season. He went 113 for 161 at the free throw line this season, setting Air Force freshman records for free throw makes and attempts. His 332 points on the season is the most by a freshman in the Mountain West era and the second most, trailing only Raymond Dudley.

Air Force graduates three seniors off the 2022-23 team and has no juniors. The Falcons are slated to return 16 combined freshmen and sophomores.

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