Blog: UNLV holds on for exciting triple-overtime win against Air Force

By Taylor Bern

Published Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | 12:30 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | 4:39 p.m.

UNLV 108, Air Force 102 3OT

Game over

Pat McCaw and Ike Nwamu played every excruciating minute, and with two walk-ons taking on a significant role the Rebels rallied to win a thrilling triple-overtime game 108-102 against Air Force. UNLV will play Fresno State tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Nwamu scored 38, McCaw had 27 points and 14 rebounds and Jerome Seagears sat for only one minute, finishing with 13 points and nine assists. UNLV had many chances to win the game at the end of each period, but came up short in one way or another before a big run in the third overtime put the game out of reach.

Zimmerman fouled out midway through the second half and Jalen Poyser wasn't far behind, setting up a depleted roster to really rely on its walk-ons. Barry Cheaney came through with some huge plays in his career-high 19 minutes and Austin Starr went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line.

This was really a crazy game, and while the Rebels are likely going to be drained tomorrow this was a great example of the fight that they've shown at various points through a lot of adversity.

Check lasvegassun.com later today for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

First some good news: senior guard Jerome Seagears is expected to start today’s game, which tips off at 1:30 p.m. against Air Force in the Thomas & Mack Center. So UNLV (17-14, 8-10) will have at least one more scholarship player than it had for Saturday’s 36-point loss at San Diego State.

I say at least one more, because the latest indications are that sophomore forward Dwayne Morgan isn’t definitely out of today’s game. I’d still be surprised to see him play, but it doesn’t seem to be off the table, so even if he doesn’t play today that could mean he returns tomorrow.

Of course, to even have that chance the Rebels have to take care of business today against the Falcons (14-17, 5-13), who won 79-74 in Clune Arena after losing by 36 at the Mack nearly two months ago. UNLV is an 11-point favorite, partly because Air Force has been abysmal on the road, going 0-9 away from Clune in Mountain West play.

Even just getting Seagears back would be big for a roster that doesn’t need to play its best game to win today. They just need a heavy dose of freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr., who missed the last game, and a defense that keeps its head on a swivel.

There was also an update today from the NCAA on the status of freshman forward Derrick Jones Jr., who last week was ruled a non-qualifier after the NCAA canceled his ACT score. The NCAA allowed Jones to return to practice and receive financial aid, but he's still ineligible for games, something UNLV will continue to fight even though they're quickly running out of time.

Prediction: If UNLV doesn’t give up a bunch of easy looks — backdoor layups and wide-open layups — they’ll advance to the quarterfinals with relative ease. UNLV 75, Air Force 65

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