Change in lineup pays off in win vs. Air Force

Steve Carp

Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 | 11:10 a.m.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- It's not like this was something new. It has happened before with positive results.

No, not Kevin Simmons' last-second heroics against Air Force Saturday. That was almost a given, considering how the 6-foot-8 senior has dominated the Falcons every time he has suited up against them.

It was coach Bill Bayno's decision to go with a smaller three-guard lineup and match up with Air Force that was the key to UNLV's 65-64 win at Clune Arena.

Bayno has used three guards before, but not to the extent he did Saturday. Mark Dickel played 35 minutes, Brian Keefe 29 and Greedy Daniels 27, and together they kept the Rebels in the game until Simmons and Shawn Marion could find their offensive rhythm.

"We seemed a little quicker on the floor," Bayno said of his decision to switch things up midway through the first half with UNLV trailing 23-14. "At the time, we needed to match up."

Good move. For while the Rebels were struggling big-time offensively, the presence of Daniels made an immediate impact. He set a more rugged defensive tone and Air Force went the final 8:42 of the half without a field goal.

By halftime, the Rebels had closed to within three.

"We can't get any bigger so a lot of people have to come to us," Falcons coach Reggie Minton said. "We seemed to be stuck on 27 forever and I'm sure their small lineup had something to do with it."

When UNLV started the second half quickly with a 12-2 run to lead 43-36, it appeared Bayno accomplished his mission. As the advantage grew to 11 with just under nine minutes to go, UNLV looked to be on its way and Bayno brought center Kaspars Kambala back on the floor.

But Air Force rallied and took the lead with 3:17 left. Once again, the Rebels were forced to go small to regain control. Bayno had Keefe take Tyron Wright, Air Force's best player, and the senior off-guard did a solid job on Wright, who led all scorers with 29 points.

"I just tried to make it as tough as possible for him," Keefe said in limiting Wright to just two points in the final five minutes while scoring 11 himself.

As for going small, Keefe said it was the right move.

"They are quick and I thought we matched up a little better," he said. "But we still had Kevin and Shawn on the floor and I knew Kevin would step up. That's his job and we know it. He knows it."

Simmons scored UNLV's last seven points as part of his 18-point, eight-rebound effort that kept the Rebels atop the WAC Mountain Division at 7-1, 14-7 overall. He hit some clutch shots down the stretch, including a jumper in the key over the double-team efforts of Wright and Miguel Garcia with 48.4 seconds to go to give UNLV a 64-61 lead.

But it was the eerie sense of deja vu that capped the night.

A year ago, Simmons and Air Force's David Schuck battled for a loose ball in the final seconds. Schuck was whistled for a foul and Simmons won the game 59-57 by sinking two free throws.

Saturday, the two met again and the results were nearly identical. Simmons drove to the basket with the score tied 64-64. Schuck rose to meet him and though Schuck got a lot of the ball, referee Moose Stubing called Schuck for the foul.

This time, Simmons only made one of his two tries, which wasn't bad considering the Rebels shot just 30 percent from the foul line (6 of 20). And Saturday, one was enough.

Hoop du jour Despite feeling ill, Dickel finished with eight points, five assists and just one turnover in his 35-minute stint. The three UNLV guards combined for 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Daniels had six points, five steals and four boards. Marion had just 10 points following his career-high 30-point binge last week against Colorado State. He said afterward the rarified air affected him. ... The Falcons were shorthanded up front with 6-7 senior forward Louis Stewart unable to play with a bad knee which will likely require surgery. Josh Slade, a 6-9 sophomore, was already out following knee surgery and 6-10 sophomore center Steve Kincanon quit the team earlier in the week. But they still managed to out-rebound UNLV 44-37 and had a 15-11 edge on the offensive glass.