Rebel report card: How the Rebels fared against Air Force

BACKCOURT: A

When you’ve got three guys handling the ball and committing just one turnover between them, that’s a good job. Patrick McCaw continues to be the smartest guy on the court for UNLV as he understands tempo, spacing and knowing where to get his teammates the ball. He doesn’t panic and it showed in his 11-point, six-assist effort. Jelan Kendrick may have had one of his best overall games as a Rebel, coming off the bench to score 15 points and dole out five assists. More on him in a moment. As for Cody Doolin, he was not physically overmatched by Air Force and he was an economic 3-for-5 shooting the ball, made all four free throws and while he had just one assist, he also had a steal and no turnovers. For him, that’s a good night.

FRONTCOURT: B-

Christian Wood had to be going crazy inside. Here he’s facing a zone that’s daring him to launch 3-pointers while his coach is telling him to get on the block, go inside and work. It was like having the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, telling you what you should do. Wood listened to his disciplined side and wound up with a nice double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. He had three turnovers but he blocked two shots. If you’re coach Dave Rice, you’ll take that. Goodluck Okonoboh returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous two games and he wasn’t much of a factor. Whether the plantar fasciitis in his right foot was a factor, the fact was he was hesitant against the Air Force zone and he had just two rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Rashad Vaughn scored 11 points but needed 11 shots to get there playing on the wing. The Falcons may have neutralized his superior speed and quickness with their 3-2 zone defense.

BENCH: A

All love to Jelan Kendrick. The senior came up big when his team desperately needed him to. The stat line was impressive: 29 minutes, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and zero turnovers. But it was his leadership that was critical to UNLV getting the win. Having played against the Falcons before, Kendrick understands the importance of matching Air Force’s mental toughness and not giving in. He was engaged in every possession at both ends of the floor and that spread to his teammates in the second half as they didn’t allow Air Force to complete a comeback. And what can you say about 5-11 Dantley Walker, the freshman from Panaca who hit a big 3-pointer just before halftime and had four scrappy minutes. He’s making the most of the time he gets from Rice and in a game like Saturday’s, he was not overmatched. Jordan Cornish and Dwayne Morgan were a combined 0 for 6 from the floor and they played just 8 and 13 minutes respectively.

COACHING B+

Dave Rice saw things were a bit awry offensively for his team at the start, chucking up all those 3s, so he astutely brought Kendrick, a senior, off the bench to settle things down. It was a savvy move as Kendrick came through with a huge effort. Rice also stayed in the zone defense even though his gut was probably telling him to get out and go man to man against Air Force. But his players executed well enough even though the Falcons made a nice halftime adjustment and started attacking the gaps and shooting mid-range jumpers. His team has now won three straight in conference play and as the calendar turns to February the Rebels have momentum and an entire week to prepare for what will arguably be one of their toughest tests of the conference season when they go to Colorado State next Saturday.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.