Mooring’s late 3-pointer rescues Rebels
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Jovan Mooring had been in a shooting slump. But when UNLV badly needed a shot, he was the one who took it.
And the one who made it. Mooring delivered a long 3-pointer with 18.6 seconds left to give the Rebels a five-point lead and help them hold off Air Force 81-76 on Wednesday. It was UNLV’S first win at Clune Arena since 2014.
Mooring made 4 of 8 3-pointers and scored 15 points, breaking out of a skid that saw him shoot 5-for29 in his previous three games. He said he made 2,000 shots Sunday at the Mendenhall Center.
“I put in the work, but when you go in a slump and the shots don’t fall, you’ve got to put in more work,” Mooring said. “It was about doing what I can to improve.”
UNLV (13-4, 2-2 Mountain West) heads into its bye with a badly needed victory after a rough start to conference play. Its only other Mountain West victory was an 8276 overtime win at San Jose State.
Jordan Johnson led UNLV with 20 points and made some key plays down the stretch, including a
3-pointer with 4:24 left to give the Rebels the lead for good. Kris Clyburn added 16 points.
For Air Force (6-10, 0-4), Lavelle Scottie scored 26 points, making 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 10 of 17 overall.
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.