Air Force’s uniforms were different. The result was the same.
Wearing their alternate gray jerseys and shorts, the Falcons lost their eighth straight game, falling to UNLV, 59-38.
As had been the case throughout a dismal month of January, Air Force struggled to score. The Falcons made 13-of-37 shots from the floor, including just 5-of-20 3-pointers, and 7-of-12 free throws. At one point mid-way through the second half, after watching yet another 3-pointer bounce high off the rim, senior guard/forward Andrew Henke looked up at the roof of Clune and screamed.
The loss was Air Force’s ninth in its last 10 games and fifth straight on the home floor where just two seasons ago it was virtually unbeatable. The Falcons fell to 9-11 and 0-7 in Mountain West Conference play, while UNLV, which snapped a six-game losing streak at Clune, improved to 17-4 and 5-2.
The Falcons made just one field goal and scored five points in the first eight minutes. They seemed poised to break out of their scoring slump, however, when senior forward Matt Holland hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Air Force a 13-12 lead with 7:30 left in the first half.
But UNLV responded with an 8-0 run to re-gain control and finished the half on a 17-6 run.
Air Force scored on its first two possessions of the second half but went cold from there, and less than five minutes into the half the Rebels led by 17.
Air Force seems to be still playing well defensively, but their offense has completely broken down. The bad news is that three senior starters graduate this spring. Even if the Prep School players are as good as advertised, we are in for at least one more year of rebuilding before we can dream of being in the mix for the MWC championship again.
Falcon –
No doubt. The three seniors are AF’s top three scoring threats. Without them, who is going to put the ball in the hoop? The junior class has contributed just 178 points this season — including 123 from Grant Parker.