UNLV slips past Air Force in 3OT; advances in MW tourney

Mar 9, 2017, 08:17 pm

LAS VEGAS -- Senior Ike Nwamu scored a career-high 38 points and Patrick McCaw added 27 with 14 rebounds to help seventh-seeded UNLV beat No. 10 seed Air Force 108-102 in triple overtime Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Jordan Cornish hit five 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 20 points, while Jerome Seagears scored 13 for UNLV, which will face No. 2 seed Fresno State (22-9) on Thursday.

Nwamu scored 13 in the third overtime, matching Air Force's total, including a 3-point play to open the period and an exclamation-point dunk to cap the scoring.

UNLV (18-14) overcame a season-high 23 turnovers by hitting 34 free throws -- its most since Nov. 14, 2009 -- and scoring its most points in more than two years.

Jacob Van scored a career-high 37 -- including three free throws with three seconds left in the second OT that tied it at 89 and forced the third OT -- for Air Force (14-17).

Eight players fouled out -- including five for the Falcons.