Air Force men’s basketball was defeated by UNLV, 67-39, in a Mountain West Conference game on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Falcons’ record dropped to 3-11 overall and 0-3 in conference play, while UNLV improved to 7-6 and 2-0 in the Mountain West.
Freshman forward Lucas Hobin led Air Force with 11 points coming off the bench. He also contributed two steals. Forward Caleb Walker added 10 points and secured a game-high seven rebounds, making five of his seven field goal attempts.
UNLV dominated rebounding, outpacing Air Force 49-32 overall and holding a significant advantage on offensive boards with a 9-2 margin in the first half. The Rebels scored 40 of their points in the paint compared to Air Force’s 22. Tyrin Jones led UNLV with 14 points, while Howie Fleming Jr. recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Air Force struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting just 30 percent from the field in the first half and finishing at only 28 percent for the contest. At halftime, they trailed UNLV by fifteen points (35-20), after being outscored in both rebounding (24-10) and points in the paint (20).
The game saw three Air Force players—freshmen Brendan Martin and Sam Imade, along with sophomore Elliott Taite—make their collegiate debuts.
Air Force is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, January 6, hosting Utah State at home. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on Altitude as well as streamed via the MW Network.
