Bryce Hamilton returns, sparks UNLV past Air Force
Welcome back, Bryce Hamilton.
UNLV’s leading scorer returned from an ankle injury, and his 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists sparked the Rebels to a 68-58 win over Air Force on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The win ends a three-game losing streak for the Rebels (7-9, 4-5 Mountain West) and moves them to 4-1 at home in conference play. The Rebels and Falcons will meet again at 6 p.m. Monday.
“It feels good to be back. It’s been a long journey,” Hamilton said. “It’s been tough for me to be out for those two games, especially against our rivals. But it’s good to be back and fighting with my teammates and get this win.”
Hamilton missed the Rebels’ two losses at UNR last week and three of their past five games.
UNLV won by dominating around the basket. The Rebels shot 55.1 percent despite going 2-for-14 from 3-point range. They controlled the boards 33-20, outscored Air Force 46-10 in the paint and went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line to 3-for-7 for Air Force.
Mbacke Diong scored 16 points, and Nick Blake came on late to finish with 11 points and five assists.
Fifteen of Air Force’s 20 field goals were 3-pointers. A.J. Walker made six of them to lead the Falcons (4-13, 2-11) with 18 points. Chris Joyce scored 14.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Role reversal
UNLV is known as a team that relies heavily on the 3-point shot, and Air Force struggles from beyond the arc.
The Falcons average 6.9 makes per game and shoot 33.2 percent on 3-pointers, both eighth in the Mountain West. But they had the touch from outside Saturday, going 15-for-32 (46.9 percent).
“I think the reason we’re not great at defending the 3 is awareness guarding the basketball,” UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “A lot of times we freeze or hesitate, and now the ball gets rotated. I don’t think that’s uncommon when you have younger teams, but we have to do a better job of guarding the 3.”
Caleb Grill made UNLV’s first 3-pointer with 10:04 left to extend the Rebels’ national record streak of games with at least one made 3 to 1,118.
2. Hamilton the distributor
Hamilton is second in the conference in scoring with 18.5 per game, but it’s his passing that often determines the Rebels’ success.
“If you look at his high-assist games, those are the best games we’ve played,” Otzelberger said. “Every team we play focuses their defense on Bryce and particularly him driving left and getting all the way to the rim. We want the ball in his hands as much as we can get it there, and we know he can make the right decision.”
Hamilton leads UNLV with 49 assists despite missing three games.
3. Game of runs
UNLV broke away with an 16-0 run that lasted from the 2:12 mark of the first half to 16:04 of the second. The Falcons answered with a 14-2 spurt to tie the score at 46 before the Rebels retook control with 12 straight points and led by nine or more the rest of the way.
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
