Blog: Rebels lose at Air Force for third time in last four trips

By Taylor Bern

Published Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 | 5:30 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 | 8:53 p.m.

Air Force 79, UNLV 74

Game over

Air Force had won only three conference games before tonight, but the Falcons were able to pick up a fourth with help from a far too lackadaisical effort from UNLV in a 79-74 loss at Clune Arena.

Four Falcons scored in double figures and Air Force certainly deserved to win, but the Rebels have only themselves to blame for the loss. Too many turnovers (16), too many fouls (25, and no the refs aren't out to get UNLV like some of you think) and far too many empty possessions. The Rebels were great in spurts, but there weren't nearly enough of those spurts to offset some career nights from an Air Force team that has now won its last three at home.

Pat McCaw and Jalen Poyser each scored 15 for UNLV, but Poyser was out the last five or so minutes (probably because of his four turnovers) and UNLV shot 1-of-7 to end the game. UNLVs shooting percentages for the game were pretty good, but so were Air Force's, and the Falcons were better at getting to the free-throw line plus converting from there.

This is UNLV's worst loss of the season, but with the way things have gone it wasn't completely unforeseen. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' defeat.

We all know that the only games remaining that really mean something to UNLV’s season are awaiting them in the conference tournament. But until then there are still five regular-season games remaining, and the fun thing to watch for is not really whether the team wins or loses but how certain young players develop.

Guys like freshman guard Jalen Poyser, who set a slew of career highs against Colorado State and would prefer not to revert right back to an offensive funk tonight at Air Force. The Rebels (15-11, 6-7) and Falcons (12-14, 3-10) tip at 6:30 p.m. Las Vegas time on CBS Sports Network.

Poyser’s production — 19 points on 10 shots, six assists, five rebounds in 30 minutes — was crucial for the Rebels keeping Colorado State at bay and notching an 87-80 victory. Now can his development take the next step with some consistency game to game?

At various points this season we’ve seen strong outbursts from the two currently healthy freshmen, Poyser and forward Derrick Jones Jr. Jones’ ceiling is as high as almost anyone in college basketball because of his physical gifts, but Poyser has shown reasons to be excited about his future, too. It’s just that we hadn’t seen that for quite awhile — he was averaging 3.2 points on less than 27 percent shooting over the previous 10 games.

Unless foul trouble forces it, UNLV’s rotation won’t go any more than eight deep right now. So there are a lot of minutes out there to be had. That was one of the unintended positives of Rashad Vaughn’s injury last season — it created a void that Pat McCaw helped to fill.

The situations aren’t the same, but there are similarities. UNLV is asking a lot of Poyser right now, asking him to develop all facets of his game to be productive as quickly as possible. It’s an exciting thing to watch, even if it wasn’t expected to come in another middling conference performance.

Prediction: UNLV smoked the Falcons at the Thomas & Mack Center but no way am I laying minus-7.5 with the Rebels. UNLV 67, Air Force 63

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.