Rebels’ last push is hardest

On the edge of exhaustion, and desperately seeking a win, UNLV junior Wink Adams found his second wind.

Corey Bailey took a deep breath and hoped for the best. Rene Rougeau had no time to rest. Curtis Terry, sick with the flu, found an open Joe Darger, who drained two 3-pointers as the game neared an end.

"We were gasping for air," Adams said. "I think we were just playing off all adrenaline."

Pushed to the limit by an underdog that refused to quit, the Rebels needed key plays from all five starters down the stretch to pull out a 58-51 victory over Air Force at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday night.

On the NCAA Tournament bubble with March around the corner, UNLV barely won a game it could not afford to lose.

"It's a relief to get this one over," said Adams, who led the Rebels with 13 points. "Any loss is a bad loss."

UNLV, 19-5 overall and 8-2 in the Mountain West Conference, next plays Saturday at first-place Brigham Young (18-5, 7-1).

"For us to win, we'll have to play almost a perfect game," Adams said. "To have two games like this in the same week is tough."

The Rebels, trailing by five points early in the second half, were far from perfect against the Falcons (12-11, 4-6).

The game was tied with six minutes remaining, but after a layup by Matt Shaw, Bailey made a 3-pointer to put UNLV up 47-42 with 5:20 left. His shot ignited the crowd of 10,506.

"I took a deep breath, put up the shot and it went in for me," said Bailey, who shot 5-for-6 and had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Adams drove and converted a three-point play to make the score 50-46, and the Rebels forced a shot-clock violation on Air Force's next possession.

"We really had some good defensive stops," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said.

Darger, quiet most of the night, made a 3-pointer to give the Rebels a 53-46 advantage with 3:12 to go. Andrew Henke's 3-pointer helped the Falcons trim the deficit to 53-49 with 1:18 remaining.

But with 38 seconds to go in the game and one second on the shot clock, Darger hit another 3-pointer. Darger, who added two free throws with 22 seconds left, scored UNLV's final eight points and finished with 11.

Henke made four 3-pointers and scored 15 points for Air Force, which shot 19-for-48 from the field and 9-for-19 from 3-point range.

"I've never seen an offense so effective," Adams said of the Falcons. "It looks like all screens and back cuts, but to be out there actually defending it, it's so tough. Playing a team like that for 40 minutes, it seems like you're playing them for a whole day."

Rougeau put crooked numbers in several categories for the Rebels, finishing with six points, six rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots in 39 minutes.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Rougeau said. "They definitely gave us a hard battle, and we did a good job not losing our composure."

Terry, UNLV's senior point guard, woke up with the flu and was questionable to play. But he scored eight points and added five assists and five rebounds in 35 minutes.

"I thought Curtis really battled," Kruger said. "I really appreciated his effort to make a go of it."

The Rebels led 24-15 before losing control late in the first half. The Falcons closed the half with a 9-2 run and opened the second half with a 7-0 spurt to go ahead 31-26.

Terry, scoreless in the first half, drove the lane and converted a three-point play to put UNLV ahead 38-37 with 12:38 remaining.

"I wasn't sure if Curtis could play," Adams said. "But in the back of my mind, I knew a player like Curtis wouldn't miss a game like this."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.