The Air Force men’s basketball team fell to 0-3 in conference play after a blowout road loss to UNLV. 

The Runnin’ Rebels led for the entire game Saturday and led by as many as 29 points in the second half for a dominant 67-39 win over Air Force at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Falcons closed to within seven points late in the first half, but UNLV outscored them 32-19 in the second half. 

Air Force (3-11, 0-3 Mountain West) was held to 29% shooting from the field, its worst of the season, and UNLV shot 43% from the field. Both teams struggled at the free throw line, with Air Force shooting 6 of 13 (46%), and 1 of 5 (20%) in the second half. The Rebels (7-6, 2-0 MW) improved their foul shooting in the second half to finish at 55%.  

“Everything that we talked about before the game in terms of just running our offense, just doing what we do, we don’t have that,” coach Joe Scott told KVOR AM 740. “That’s the reason why we are having our shooting woes. When we get to the point where all we do is what we do, you’ll start seeing the ball go in the basket.”

The Falcons’ 39 points is their lowest of the season. But they also kept UNLV below its 81.1 average points per game.

UNLV had four players in double-digits, led by forward Tyrin Jones with 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman Lucas Hobin led Air Force with 11 points, followed by Caleb Walker with 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Freshmen forwards Sam Imade and Brendan Martin, and sophomore guard Elliott Taite made their collegiate debuts for the Falcons.

A 10-0 run early in the first half helped UNLV gain a 35-20 advantage at halftime with Air Force scoring one free throw and no field goals in the last four minutes. 

The Falcons had a sluggish start to the second half, missing their first 11 field goals and not scoring until six minutes into the half with a 3-pointer by Hobin. UNLV led by as many as 29 points with just under three minutes left in the half, and Air Force did not score for the last two minutes of the contest. 

The Falcons return home to face Utah State for the only time this season, at Clune Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m.