Rebels pull zone press to surprise Air Force

Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003 | 10:02 a.m.

UNLV caught Air Force off-guard in the first half Monday night by opening with a 2-2-1 fullcourt zone on defense and not letting up for the entire first half.

The Rebels stuck with that strategy for the whole second half, too, but the final 20 minutes were moot in UNLV's 74-70 victory before 11,344 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The first 20 minutes made all the difference, and Rebels point guard Marcus Banks said he favors using the press for every minute of every UNLV game for the rest of the season.

"It did play a key," said reserve guard Demetrius Hunter. "It's a good thing. Not too many teams in this conference see pressing, and I think it's worth a try to put that into our game (plan)."

Air Force coach Joe Scott acknowledged the efficiency of UNLV's press during the Falcons' 75-71 victory over the Rebels a month ago in Colorado.

"They did it a little bit, and it did affect us a little bit," Scott said.

Monday night, the Rebels used it a lot and it often upset Air Force's rhythm.

"We wanted to speed them up instead of sitting back and waiting for them past halfcourt," said UNLV guard Jermaine Lewis, who dumped all of his 15 points on Air Force in the first half. "It also helped us talk more on defense."

The Rebels (17-8, 6-5 in the Mountain West Conference) held a 37-32 lead at halftime, having negated Air Force's hot touch by pressuring some of the Falcons into losing their poise.

Air Force (11-13, 2-9) had hit its first seven shots, for a 19-18 advantage. However, it also had thrown the ball away four times, traveled twice and was caught holding the ball when the 35-second shot clock expired.

For a team that averages just 11.5 turnovers, fifth in the NCAA, that qualified as irrational behavior. For a disciple of Princeton's patented precise style, it was time to reach for the aspirin.

"Don't turn it over!" Scott, a former Princeton player and assistant, yelled at his players. "That's the key!"

Air Force's halftime deficit was respectable because Tom Bellairs tipped in a missed free throw by Antoine Hood, who had hit his first, with 5.6 seconds left.

UNLV scored 19 points off Air Force turnovers, and the Falcons had 12 points off miscues by the Rebels. Those figures decide tight games, and they sent Air Force to its 27th consecutive Mountain West road defeat.

"It caused us problems in the first half, not in the second," Scott said of UNLV's press. "It wasn't the usual 2-2-1. It looked like that, but then they caved in on our point guy to put pressure on him. They probably did that because they didn't want to guard us in the halfcourt, and they did it for the whole game.

"That surprised me."