Boise State men’s basketball team wins exhibition opener without several key players
The Boise State men’s basketball team wasn’t at full strength for its exhibition opener against Vanguard, but that proved to be of little consequence.
The Broncos defeated the NAIA squad from Costa Mesa, California, 89-63 on Monday night at Taco Bell Arena. Five Broncos scored in double figures, led by senior forward Zach Haney with a game-best 21 points and eight rebounds.
Boise State was playing without junior guards Justinian Jessup and Pat Dembley, who are both expected to make significant contributions in 2018-19. Senior center Robin Jorch is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
Coach Leon Rice said Dembley sat out the exhibition as part of his punishment for his June arrest on a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge. Jessup has been resting a sore knee the last two weeks..
“Everyone thinks suspensions are the end all, but there’s a lot more teaching and things that they’re accountable for,” Rice said during a post-game press conference. “We hold them accountable to a high standard here at Boise.”
Rice said Jessup and Dembley should be available for the Broncos’ season opener Saturday against Idaho State, which likely means the five players who started the exhibition won’t be the five who start against the Bengals.
“They had to solve some problems, so it was a really good exhibition game,” Rice said. “We had some guys playing out of position or different positions a little bit, and the thing I told them is this stuff happens through the year. We could be in the tournament and two guys go down and we have to find a way.
“What a great way to learn and figure out ways to do it.”
Haney, Marcus Dickinson, Malek Harwell, Derrick Alston and RJ Williams started against the Lions. Alex Hobbs, the Mountain West’s sixth man of the year last season, came off the bench. Hobbs recently returned from a concussion that sidelined him for 10 days.
“We have a well-rounded team. Everybody can score the ball. Everybody believes in each other,” Haney said. “... Tonight the stat sheet showed that everybody can score from every position.”
Williams, a transfer from East Los Angeles College, added 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Harwell (12 points), Hobbs (12) and Alston (11) were the other Broncos to reach double digits.
Rice was able to get all 13 available Broncos on the floor against Vanguard, including freshmen Riley Abercrombie, Mikey Frazier, Jaycson Bereal, Max Rice and Bing Huang. It might be the only playing time some of those freshmen see this season.
“There’s four or five guys who may redshirt,” Rice said.
The Broncos officially open the season Saturday against Idaho State. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena, and the game will be streamed online by the Mountain West Network.
“The Broncos will be really motivated, no question about it,” Rice said. “We know the rivalries and the region stuff. That matters to us.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 9:04 PM.