Boise State plays ‘soft’ in home opener against Idaho State

If winning at Taco Bell Arena, particularly in home openers, has been the rule for the Boise State men’s basketball program, then the Broncos’ 2018-19 home opener against Idaho State will go down as the exception.

For the first time since 2002, Boise State lost an opener on its home court, falling 72-70 to Idaho State on Saturday night in front of 5,001 fans. The Broncos are now 41-10 in home openers, ending a streak of 15 straight wins.

“We were soft. We relaxed. We got up 18 and then we played cool,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a post-game press conference. “A good indicator of that is how bad they beat us on the glass. (Idaho State) didn’t let up.

“We just got really soft and then we settled for threes down the stretch. We didn’t show any toughness, and that’s what really bothers me.”

Idaho State made the first basket of the game but didn’t lead again until junior guard Chidi Udengwu broke a 70-70 tie by making two free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the game.

Boise State senior forward David Wacker was whistled for a foul on Udengwu while the two were contending for a rebound under the basket following a missed shot by Idaho State’s Brandon Boyd. The Broncos had already committed 11 fouls, guaranteeing the Bengals two free throws.

“A rebounding foul with no time left is a tough way to go down, so you hope it was a good call,” Rice said. “But if not, let’s go to overtime and finish it. I think they’re probably surprised they got that call.”

The Broncos’ advantage started to unravel shortly after junior college transfer Pat Dembley sank a 3-pointer to give Boise State a 55-37 lead with 15:32 remaining in the second half.

On the Bengals’ ensuing possession, Chier Maker answered with a triple of his own in what would end up being the first of eight second-half 3-pointers for Idaho State. The Bengals bettered the Broncos in nearly every major stat category in the second half, including points (42-26), rebounds (24-16) and assists (10-5).

“We’ve just got to get a hand up, obviously,” Boise State senior Zach Haney said. “It’s probably on our end if they’re knocking down those shots. We’ve just got to fix it, get back in the film room, and fix it.”

With the game tied at 70-70, Boise State had two chances to retake the lead. Wacker missed two free throws with 47.2 seconds left, but junior guard Justinian Jessup grabbed the offensive board to give the Broncos a second chance.

After a timeout with 43.5 seconds to go, Boise State redshirt sophomore Derrick Alston missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, and ISU started the final possession of the game with about 20 seconds on the clock.

“I’m pissed, for sure,” Haney said. “But you’ve got to give (Idaho State) props. They came out, played extremely hard and knocked down shots.”

Saturday’s loss is just the 22nd home defeat in the Rice era and only the second at home under Rice in the month of November.

“We didn’t defend our home court,” said Rice, who is now 102-22 inside Taco Bell Arena. “We’ve established a good home court here year after year. Now we just let somebody come in here and outrebound us, do whatever they wanted offensively. It was terrible.”

The Broncos (0-1) get their first shot at redemption on their home court on Friday against Jackson State (0-2). Tipoff is 8 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena.

In the meantime, Rice has challenged his team to find the mental toughness it lacked down the stretch against Idaho State.

“If I can find five that are tough enough to do it, then those are the five that will play,” Rice said. “I’ll just play with five if I have to, but I’m not going to sit and watch that.”

Women: Boise State 91, Southern Oregon 46

For the second straight game, Boise State senior Joyce Harrell put forth a career effort, this time scoring a career-high 23 points in a rout of the NAIA Raiders on Saturday at Taco Bell Arena.

“It’s senior year. It’s all or nothing now,” Harrell said. “I can’t get these games back, so I have to leave it all on the court.”

Harrell’s game-high 23 points on 11-for-14 shooting came two days after she grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds on Thursday in the Broncos’ season-opening win over Cal State Northridge.

Despite the 45-point margin of victory, Boise State coach Gordy Presnell sees plenty of room for improvement, especially with No. 5 Louisville coming to town Nov. 19.

“I wish we wouldn’t have fouled so much. We have one more game to get ready before our schedule turns on us and becomes ferocious for us,” Presnell said. “We have to clear up our fouling, and we haven’t shot the ball from three as well as I would like to. We’ll get after it and keep trying.”

All 12 Broncos who suited up saw playing time, with 10 of those players scoring. In another well-rounded effort, senior guard Marta Hermida was the only other Bronco in double figures with 18 points. Hermida also sank four 3-pointers for the second game in a row.

Junior Riley Lupfer added nine points, freshman Rachel Bower had eight, and junior Ellie Woerner had seven. A’Shanti Coleman, Braydey Hodgins and Jade Loville checked in with six points apiece.

“I think it’s good we’re playing with different people,” Harrell said. “I think I’d rather know my teammates better now than February, getting ready for March. It’s good now. I like the rotations and knowing all the different guards.”

Boise State (2-0) returns to the court at 5:30 p.m. Friday at home against Northwest Christian.

IDAHO ST. 72, BOISE STATE 70

IDAHO STATE (1-1)

Jared Stutzman 5-12 2-2 16; Chier Maker 5-10 2-3 16; Brandon Boyd 4-16 4-5 14; Balint Mocsan 3-5 5-5 12; Blake Truman 2-2 0-0 5; Chidi Udengwu 1-2 3-4 5; Kelvin Jones 2-5 0-0 4; Gary Chivichyan 0-2 0-0 0; Alonzo Walker 0-3 0-0 0; Sam Dowd 0-1 0-0 0; Austin Smellie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 16-19 72.

BOISE STATE (0-1)

RJ Williams 6-15 3-4 15; Pat Dembley 4-12 2-4 13; Zach Haney 4-4 2-2 11; Derrick Alston 3-7 2-2 9; David Wacker 4-6 0-4 8; Alex Hobbs 2-7 1-2 6; Justinian Jessup 1-7 2-2 5; Marcus Dickinson 1-4 0-0 3; Malek Harwell 0-0 0-3 0. Totals 25-62 12-23 70.

Idaho State................ 30 42 - 72

Boise State................. 44 26 - 70

3-point goals - Idaho St. 12-25 (Stutzman 4-8; Maker 4-8; Boyd 2-5; Mocsan 1-2; Truman 1-1; Dowd 0-1), Boise State 8-25 (Dembley 3-8; Alston 1-5; Haney 1-1; Dickinson 1-2; Jessup 1-5; Hobbs 1-2; Williams 0-2). Fouled out - Idaho St.: Jones, Boise State: Haney. Rebounds - Idaho St. 36 (Maker 6), Boise State 39 (Alston 7). Assists - Idaho St. 13 (Mocsan 4), Boise State 12 (Dembley 4). Total fouls - Idaho St. 22, Boise State 19. Technical fouls - None. A - 5,001.

This story was originally published November 10, 2018 at 9:49 PM.