COURTESY BOISE STATE
BOISE, Idaho – Each of Boise State’s five starters scored in double figures as Boise State men’s basketball ran past Utah State by 23 points for a 82-59 Quad 1 victory in front of a sold-out ExtraMile Arena, Saturday afternoon.
The announced attendance of 12,007 is the ninth-largest crowd for a men’s basketball game in facility history.
The Broncos (12-4, 2-1 MW) shot an efficient 54.8% (17-31) from the floor in the first half, including 75% (6-8) from deep en route to matching its season high for first-half points with 45. 13 points from Tyson Degenhart and eight from Marcus Shaver, Jr. helped the Broncos jump out to a 15-point lead over the Aggies (13-3, 3-0 MW) at halftime.
Boise State opened the second period with a 13-4 run, holding the Aggies scoreless for nearly three minutes to push the lead to 24 with 14 minutes remaining. Utah State whittled the lead down to as low as 15 points with 6:30 left, but the Bronco defense clamped down to only allow seven points through the remainder of the game, locking down their second Mountain West win of the season.
Top Broncos
- Tyson Degenhart led all scorers and posted his first-career double-double, scoring 19 points to go along with 10 points.
- Max Rice stuffed the stat sheet for 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
- Marcus Shaver, Jr. did it all for Boise State with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Quotables
- “Thank you fans,” said head coach Leon Rice. “That was a huge atmosphere and a great Mountain West game. That was a really good team we beat today and we had to play a great game to beat them. Our guys showed up and executed what they needed to execute and were dialed in. I was really proud of them.”
- “It feels good to get a win like that,” said Tyson Degenhart. “It came against a good team that provided us a lot of challenges, especially with the way they shoot the three. Great crowd today, shout out to them they really packed The X and we appreciate them for that.”
- “I feel like those types of games are why you play college basketball,” said Max Rice. “A sold-out arena against a Quad-1 team where both teams are super competitive, it was a fun and competitive game the whole way.”
Notables
- The Boise State defense held Utah State to its lowest point total of the season (59)…Boise State has held nine opponents to under 60 points this season.
- Boise State shot a season-high 57.9% (11-19) from three-point range.
- Marcus Shaver, Jr., and Max Rice each dished out 5 assists, marking the first time two Broncos have posted five-or-more assists in a game since Abu Kigab and Shaver did so against Colorado State last season (Feb. 13, 2022).
Up Next
Boise State heads to Las Vegas for a late-night showdown with UNLV, Wednesday (Jan. 11). Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m. MT with national broadcast coverage available on CBS Sports Network.
