LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Sophomore guard Amauri Hardy scored a career-high 24 points as the UNLV men's basketball team defeated Air Force, 77-72, in a Mountain West game at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday night.
Two other Runnin' Rebels (13-11, 7-5) were also in double figures in points as junior forward Nick Blair chipped in 13 and senior guard Noah Robotham added 12. Sophomore forward Mbacke Diong pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
The Falcons (10-14, 5-7) had four score in double figures, led by Lavelle Scottie's game-high 25 points on 12 of 18 from the field and Ryan Swan's double-double of 17 points and game-high 16 rebounds.
THE TURNING POINT: Robotham and Blair combined to make six free throws in the final 29.2 seconds of the game. Robotham gave UNLV a 73-72 lead with of those free throws.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV shot 50 percent from the field (29 of 58), improving its record to 6-0 when it makes at least half its shots.
RUNNIN' REBEL OF THE GAME: Hardy's previous career high in points came at Air Force on Jan. 16 when he scored 23. On Tuesday, he was 9 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers. He also recorded a game-high-tying three steals.
NOTES:
- UNLV improved to 27-2 all-time vs. Air Force at home. It was the Runnin' Rebels' seventh straight win against the Falcons at the Thomas & Mack Center.
- UNLV made 10 3-pointers, marking the sixth time in the last nine games that the Runnin' Rebels have made at least 10 3-pointers.
- It was a back-and-forth game all night as there were a total of 16 lead changes and 11 ties throughout.
- UNLV's biggest lead of the game was seven with 4:45 to go in the contest.
- UNLV scored 21 points off Air Force's 15 turnovers, while the Falcons managed just 10 points from the Runnin' Rebels' 12 miscues.
- UNLV led in fast-break points 12-3 and had 23 points from its bench, compared to 11 from Air Force's.
- UNLV has made at least one 3-pointer in a NCAA-record 1,063 straight games.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN' REBELS: UNLV will head back out on the road for its next two games: at San Jose State on Saturday and at Wyoming next Tuesday.
