UNLV blows out Air Force to remain unbeaten in Mountain West play

UNLV men’s basketball coach Kevin Kruger emphasized focus to his team ahead of its road matchup with Air Force.

It can be a difficult task during a game played around 7,000 feet above sea level.

But the Rebels only need to catch their breath for a moment Tuesday, overcoming an early 8-2 deficit to defeat the Falcons 77-58 at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

UNLV (8-5, 2-0 Mountain West) won through a balanced effort. Four players scored at least 10 points in the team’s third straight win.

Guard Julian Rishwain led the charge with 16 points against Air Force (3-10, 0-2) while shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Guard Jaden Henley added 14 points, forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry scored 13 and guard Jailen Bedford had 11.

“Got punched a little bit early, but we responded very well,” guard Brooklyn Hicks said. “It’s really no joke between the air and how they run their offense.”

The Falcons’ most effective scoring threat was Ethan Taylor, who had 14 points and stole a poor Dedan Thomas Jr. pass to help his team get off to a strong start.

Air Force also grabbed four of the game’s first five rebounds, allowing it to make a pair of second-chance 3-pointers in the first four minutes.

Kruger attributed some of the slow start to the fact that Thomas was the only member of the starting lineup who had played at Air Force before.

“We had four guys out there to start that had never seen it, and even though they were playing hard, giving up four offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the game makes it scary,” Kruger said. “But to those guys’ credit, they adjusted pretty quickly. Picked up the pace and the tempo and the urgency.”

Bedford shines

The Rebels recovered to lead 38-26 at halftime, in part because the Falcons were 4-for-19 from 3 in the first half.

UNLV had no such struggles from distance. Bedford came off the bench to make two 3-pointers during a 12-0 run in the first half that turned a 10-6 deficit into an 18-10 lead.

“(Once we) got some shots to drop, mainly by Bedford coming in and being a spark, it felt like everyone kind of took a breath and relaxed,” Kruger said.

Bedford transferred to UNLV this year after starting 31 games for Oral Roberts last season. He started the Rebels’ first six games but has come off the bench his other seven appearances.

Kruger said Bedford has “been an absolute dream” to coach and is embracing his role. The two discussed the switch before Kruger took Bedford out of the starting lineup for UNLV’s 66-61 loss to Northwestern on Nov. 29.

“Talking about it, I tried as best as I could to make him feel the love from the coaching staff and from myself (to understand) that this is solely because we feel like you’re pressing. We just want you to be free,” Kruger said. “He’s taken that to heart and been an unbelievable spark for us. He’s making shots, he’s creating things, but most importantly, he’s smiling.”

Dayton loss left a mark

UNLV has now won four of its last five games, with the lone loss coming at No. 22 Dayton on Dec. 17.

When asked what was working for his team after Tuesday’s win, Kruger called back to that 66-65 defeat.

“I think we’re sticking together,” Kruger said. “In six halves since we got back from Dayton, we’ve had five pretty good ones. And (we’re) just continuing to learn each other, play for each other.”

UNLV will look to continue its undefeated start to conference play when it hosts San Jose State on Saturday.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.