steve marcus
UNLV forward Rob Whaley Jr., 5, celebrates after a basket during the second half of the NCAA basketball game vs. UNR at Thomas the Thomas & Mac Center Saturday, February 17, 2024.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 | 10:46 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO —
After Saturday’s 69-66 loss to UNR, most people focused on UNLV’s play in the final minutes. Not Rob Whaley. He had major problems with the way his team played for 40 minutes.
Whaley, UNLV’s most physical player, didn’t like the way UNR crushed the Scarlet and Gray on the glass on its home floor and outrebounded them 41-20. So Whaley and his frontcourt partners decided to do something about it.
Whaley said he and starting forwards Kaylan and Kalib Boone had a private meeting prior to Wednesday’s game against Air Force, and there was only one thing on the agenda.
“Me, KB, Key, we all got together and said, ‘We’ve got to put our bodies on the line,'” Whaley said. “‘We need to get on the glass more and get more rebounds because we can’t get over 20 rebounds like we did last game.’
Problem solved.
The trio of Whaley and Boones combined to single-handedly defeat Air Force as UNLV demolished the Falcons 72-43.
What does Whaley think of UNLV’s physicality?
“It’s gotten a lot better,” he said.
Whaley was the driving force from the start. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound behemoth wasted no time getting into the paint and pushing aside Air Force’s small front line. He scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting (all inside the restricted area) and grabbed seven rebounds.
As a team, the Scarlet and Gray outscored the hosts 44-19. Kaylan Boone led all players with eight boards, while Kalib Boone pulled down five boards.
UNLV built a 10-point lead midway through the first half. Once Air Force cut the deficit to four points, the Scarlet and Gray closed out the first half with an 8-2 run to get back to double digits.
Whaley scored this in the opening minutes of the second half. He posted up for a layup on his first possession, found Kalib Boone under the rim for a dunk on his second possession, then finished with contact for a 3-point play for a 17-point lead. UNLV pushed its lead to 30 points in the second half thanks to a 40-22 point advantage in the paint.
Last-place Air Force dominated UNLV on Jan. 23 at the Thomas & Mack Center, taking an early lead and pulling away 90-58. This remains the Falcons’ only Mountain West win of the season. UNLV didn’t have a chance to repeat that on Wednesday, as it held AFA to 34.6 percent shooting, including a dismal 5-of-28 3-point shot.
Air Force forward Laitis Petraitis recorded a triple-double in the first game, but this time he only scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting.
Whaley said UNLV is ready to defend Air Force’s rigorous offensive system in the return game.
“We were active,” Whaley said. “Defensively we came together as a team. We were a lot better than the first time we played. We were more in sync. We played together.”
The win doesn’t erase January’s loss to Air Force or Saturday’s loss to UNR, but it does help UNLV get back on track. The team improved its overall record to 15-10 and conference record to 8-5, ahead of Colorado State (8-6) and sixth in the Mountain West standings.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter twitter.com/Mike Grimara.
