Terry must be Rebels’ strong point

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — An experienced point guard might be the most important ingredient to winning on the road in college basketball, and UNLV has one in senior Curtis Terry.

When the crowd noise cranks up the pressure and the home team heightens its intensity, it’s Terry’s job to remain calm. If he panics, everything can fall apart.

Not every player thrives in a hostile environment. Terry must excel in those situations for the Rebels to be successful.

“I think it’s a lot more fun to know everybody is cheering against you,” he said. “It’s definitely a different experience. Some people shy away from it. I don’t shy away from that. I like to take a big shot.

“If I let it get to me and affect my psyche, then I think we’ll struggle.”

Terry and his teammates return to one of the Mountain West Conference’s toughest venues at 3 p.m. today, when UNLV (12-3, 1-0) plays Air Force (8-6, 0-1) at 5,858-seat Clune Arena.

The Rebels have lost five consecutive games at Clune, which sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The air is usually chilly inside the tiny arena, which is attached to a hockey rink.

A senior point guard, Kevin Kruger, also led UNLV into Clune last January, but the result was a 56-50 defeat. The Rebels shot 1-for-18 from 3-point range, with Kruger making the one with 1:55 left in the game.

UNLV’s top three scorers this season — junior guard Wink Adams, junior forward Joe Darger and Terry — combined to shoot 3-for-19 in last year’s road loss to the Falcons. Terry went scoreless and missed all four of his 3-pointers.

“That was just an off day. I don’t think it’s a tough shooting gym,” Terry said. “I just think we hit a bad streak and couldn’t get anything to drop. But hopefully we’ll shoot the ball a lot better this time.”

Since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Air Force is 63-3 at home. It is 7-1 at home this season, losing to Colorado 60-50 on Nov. 29.

But the Falcons’ talent level has dropped significantly this season. First-year coach Jeff Reynolds, an Air Force assistant the past two seasons, inherited one returning starter in senior guard Tim Anderson.

The Rebels, 4-4 in Mountain West road games last year, are 3-1 on the road this season. They opened conference play last Saturday with a nail-biting 65-62 victory at Colorado State.

It was not an impressive victory, especially considering the Rams lost at home to Division II Oklahoma Panhandle State on Tuesday.

Terry rescued UNLV by hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers and scoring 18 points. He was on the floor for 38 minutes and had five assists and no turnovers.

“If I would have bogged down and let everything get to me, I think we would have been in trouble,” Terry said.

He showed the value of a senior point guard, even if the 6-foot-5-inch Terry is more of a shooting guard running the point out of necessity.

“Always when you go on the road, you need your leadership to step forward and give maturity and give direction,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. “In a game like this, that’s huge.

“I think Curtis has stepped forward. He has shot the ball well, and he has given us good direction.”

Terry, averaging 11.2 points, leads UNLV in assists (63), turnovers (31) and 3-pointers (32). His responsibilities in road games are magnified — he needs to make big shots while operating the offense aggressively and without error.

In Kruger’s four seasons, Terry has played in all 113 games, with 40 starts. So he is suited for the job.

“It’s hard to get out on the road and get a win, especially if you get behind and the crowd gets into it. But you can’t play all home games,” Terry said.

“If things aren’t going your way, the other team is making a run, you can’t get anything going and it seems like everything is against you … I think some people might get timid. But I bring the ball up and I’m controlling the tempo and running what Coach calls.

“We can’t have guys getting down on themselves if they make a bad play. At home, if you make a bad play, the crowd is still behind you. On the road, one bad play can change the tempo of the game and the atmosphere completely. You’ve got to fight through it.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.