One-possession games equal kryptonite for Boise State men; women win again
Alex Hobbs took the outlet pass from Derrick Alston and dribbled down court with his eye on the game-winning shot.
But Hobbs’ 3-pointer from the right side hit the backboard and bounced off the front of the rim, sending Boise State to a 65-63 loss against Fresno State on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.
Boise State dropped to 1-6 in games decided by a single possession. The only other year the Broncos (11-14, 6-6 MW) have had six losses by three points or fewer was the 1983-84 season.
“We keep getting ourselves in these situations, and we could take it two ways,” Hobbs said. “Coach told us in the locker room we can hang our heads and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can get back to work and find out how to win these games.”
The ball certainly hasn’t bounced Boise State’s way in close games this season, but coach Leon Rice said it isn’t about luck.
“We’ve got players, they’ve got to make plays,” Rice said. “We’re right there, we’ve just got to keep getting better. And if we do, we’re playing with the best teams in the league right down to the final possession.”
Hobbs paced the Broncos in the back-and-forth Mountain West contest with 18 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. He was the only Bronco in double figures in a game that featured 16 lead changes and 11 ties. The largest lead by either team was Boise State’s six-point advantage about midway through the first half.
“Even though we’ve come up on the losing end, I really feel like we’ve played until the end and we’ve played our hearts out as a team,” said Boise State redshirt senior David Wacker, who totaled eight points and seven rebounds. “That’s what leaves you able to keep going back to work.”
Boise State took its last lead, 61-59, with 42 seconds left on a jumper from Hobbs. The Bulldogs (18-6, 9-3) answered with a three-point play by Braxton Huggins, and then Noah Blackwell sank two free throws with 9.9 seconds left to go up 64-61.
The Bulldogs chose to foul Hobbs with 8 seconds remaining, and Hobbs made both freebies to cut the deficit to 64-63.
Following a Fresno State timeout, Boise State fouled the Bulldogs’ Nate Grimes. Grimes made his first free throw but missed his second with 6.7 seconds on the clock, allowing Hobbs to get one last look at the basket.
“I kind of pump faked because I saw two (defenders) were on me, and they both jumped,” Hobbs said. “I tried to jump into one of them and get a call. Once I realized I wasn’t going to get the call, I just tried to get it up.
“I probably could have brought it down after the shot fake and got another look, but I thought I could have banked it in at that point, too. I felt that it was a decent look.”
Boise State finished a season-low 3-for-17 from 3-point range (17.6 percent) and shot just 36.7 percent from the floor. The Broncos were able to keep it close with a 16-for-17 performance from the free-throw line and the advantage in rebounds (37-33), fastbreak points (15-0), bench points (20-5) and second-chance points (16-4).
“We did everything we needed to do,” Rice said. “We guarded tonight. We rebounded. We didn’t turn the ball over. I was just really proud of the way we approached the game and the battle that we did. We were right there to win it.”
The Broncos will travel directly to San Diego and spend the next few days preparing for their game Saturday against the San Diego State Aztecs (15-9, 7-4). Tipoff is 5 p.m. MT at Viejas Arena, and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Women: Boise State 83, Fresno State 76
Even without its leading scorer, the Boise State women’s basketball team wasn’t rattled.
The Broncos withstood a 22-point second half from Mountain West scoring leader Candice White to sweep the season series against the third-place Bulldogs (15-8, 8-4 MW) and remain alone in first place in the league standings. White made three 3-pointers in the final five minutes and finished with 24 points to help Fresno State rally from a 19-point deficit.
The Bulldogs got as close as 78-76 with 42 seconds left. But the Broncos forced two turnovers on each of the Bulldogs’ next two possessions and made just enough free throws (5-of-8) down the stretch to turn back Fresno State.
Ten Broncos scored in all, including three in double figures, led by Braydey Hodgins with 21 points. It was Hodgins’ third straight 20-point game and her performance last week earned her Mountain West Player of the Week honors.
“She has competitive greatness. She can be good when you have to be good,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said. “That’s been a hallmark of her career here and she’s made big plays and big shots for a long time. I’m really proud of her.”
The Broncos (20-3, 10-1) played without Riley Lupfer for the second straight game. The junior guard was injured last week against UNLV and has been day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Boise State’s depth made it easier to get by without Lupfer, the Mountain West’s preseason player of the year. Senior Marta Hermida contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, and five Broncos chipped in a combined 30 points off the bench. Sophomore Tess Amundsen racked up 11 points in just 12 minutes of action.
“I was really proud of our bench,” Presnell said. “... They left the floor and we were up about 19, and we didn’t take care of business with our starters in the last four or five minutes.”
The Broncos’ 20 wins in 23 games ties them as the second-fastest team in program history to 20 wins. The 1993-94 squad also got win No. 20 in game No. 23, while the fastest team to 20 was the 1974-75 team, which opened 20-1.
Boise State completes its two-game homestand on Saturday against San Diego State. It is the second meeting of the season between the two Mountain West teams. The Broncos fended off a late Aztec comeback for a 69-66 win on Jan. 5 in San Diego. Saturday’s game starts at 2 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena, and fans are asked to wear pink for a Pink Out.
MEN: FRESNO ST. 65, BOISE ST. 63
BOISE STATE (11-14, 6-6 MW)
HOBBS, Alex 7-16 3-3 18; DEMBLEY, Pat 2-9 4-4 9; JESSUP, Justinian 4-10 0-0 8; WACKER, David 3-3 2-2 8; WILLIAMS, RJ 2-6 3-4 7; DICKINSON, Marcus 2-6 2-2 7; HANEY, Zach 1-2 2-2 4; ALSTON, Derrick 1-8 0-0 2; HARWELL, Malek 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 16-17 63.
FRESNO STATE (18-6, 9-3 MW)
HUGGINS, Braxton 9-16 4-5 26; GRIMES, Nate 4-7 5-8 13; TAYLOR, Deshon 3-8 3-4 11; BLACKWELL, Noah 3-7 2-2 10; WILLIAMS, New 1-5 0-0 3; GRAY, Christian 1-1 0-1 2; AGAU, Aguir 0-0 0-0 0; BITTNER, Sam 0-3 0-0 0; ROJAS, Lazaro 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 14-20 65.
Boise State................... 31 32 — 63
Fresno State.................. 30 35 — 65
3-point goals — Boise State 3-17 (DICKINSON, Marcus 1-3; DEMBLEY, Pat 1-5; HOBBS, Alex 1-4; ALSTON, Derrick 0-2; JESSUP, Justinian 0-3), Fresno State 9-28 (HUGGINS, Braxton 4-9; BLACKWELL, Noah 2-6; TAYLOR, Deshon 2-6; WILLIAMS, New 1-4; BITTNER, Sam 0-2; GRIMES, Nate 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Boise State 37 (WACKER, David 7; JESSUP, Justinian 7), Fresno State 33 (GRIMES, Nate 15). Assists — Boise State 8 (JESSUP, Justinian 2; ALSTON, Derrick 2; HOBBS, Alex 2), Fresno State 10 (HUGGINS, Braxton 3). Total fouls — Boise State 21, Fresno State 14. Technical fouls — None. A — 5,548.
WOMEN: BOISE ST. 83, FRESNO ST. 76
FRESNO ST. (15-8, 8-4)
WHITE, Candice 9-13 2-3 24; CAVEY, Kristina 5-7 3-3 14; UTTI, Maddi 5-10 4-6 14; GAMEZ, Aly 3-7 2-4 8; KNISHKA, Breanne 2-4 0-0 5; DELANEY, Bree 2-6 0-0 4; PORTER, Jordanna 1-3 0-0 3; OGIER, Genna 1-3 0-0 2; FRIBERG, Lydia 1-1 0-0 2; NOYER, Katelin 0-1 0-0 0; JOHNSON, Raven 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 29-56 11-18 76.
BOISE ST. (20-3, 11-1)
HODGINS, Braydey 7-18 3-4 21; HERMIDA, Marta 4-9 4-6 14; AMUNDSEN, Tess 5-7 0-0 11; HARRELL, Joyce 1-6 6-8 8; COLEMAN, A’Shanti 3-8 2-2 8; BOWERS, Rachel 3-4 1-1 7; LOVILLE, Jade 3-4 0-0 6; WOERNER, Ellie 1-2 2-4 4; CHRISTOPHER, Jayde 0-3 2-4 2; GALERON, Sofia 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-63 20-29 83.
Fresno St..................... 12 18 19 27 — 76
Boise St...................... 15 24 18 26 — 83
3-point goals — Fresno St. 7-18 (WHITE, Candice 4-7; PORTER, Jordanna 1-2; CAVEY, Kristina 1-2; KNISHKA, Breanne 1-3; DELANEY, Bree 0-3; GAMEZ, Aly 0-1), Boise St. 7-24 (HODGINS, Braydey 4-11; HERMIDA, Marta 2-7; AMUNDSEN, Tess 1-3; LOVILLE, Jade 0-1; WOERNER, Ellie 0-1; CHRISTOPHER, Jayde 0-1). Fouled out — Fresno St.-GAMEZ, Aly, Boise St.-None. Rebounds — Fresno St. 29 (UTTI, Maddi 7), Boise St. 39 (COLEMAN, A’Shanti 10). Assists — Fresno St. 12 (GAMEZ, Aly 4), Boise St. 15 (CHRISTOPHER, Jayde 4). Total fouls — Fresno St. 26, Boise St. 17. Technical fouls — None. A — 1,230.
This story was originally published February 13, 2019 at 11:29 PM.
