Boise State men’s basketball guts out triple-overtime thriller at Pacific
Derrick Alston and Alex Hobbs fouled out, and Justinian Jessup, RJ Williams and Robin Jorch each finished with four fouls.
The Boise State men’s basketball team won anyway.
Playing in only the third game in program history to go three overtimes or more, the Broncos persisted for an 82-76 victory over Pacific (5-3) in triple overtime Saturday at Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, California.
“It came down to our guys’ grit and resolve,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “We knew this was going to be a tough game. They’ve played really well this year. (Pacific coach) Damon (Stoudamire)‘s got a tough, tough squad that just guards you, and they’re good defensively. They just keep coming at you every possession. Our guys just kind of hung with it. They were mentally strong.”
Boise State (3-2) benefited from heroics throughout its lineup, with all eight of the Broncos’ eligible scholarship players scoring four points or more. Senior point guard Marcus Dickinson scored nine of his career-high 16 points in overtime, and his two free throws with 32 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 56-56 and forced the first overtime.
Fellow senior Justinian Jessup, who led all scorers with 22 points, sent the game into a second overtime with a jumper with 2.5 seconds on the clock. Then senior Alex Hobbs kept the Broncos’ hopes alive one last time thanks to a putback with 3 seconds left in double OT.
Boise State outscored Pacific 10-4 in the third and final overtime to win at Pacific for the first time in program history.
“In a game like that, you need every single guy that you have. These guys, man, they just kept sawing wood,” Rice said. “There was a time when it looked kind of tough and they didn’t get their heads down, they just kept fighting.”
In the final extra session, Dickinson knocked down a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left to break a 74-74 tie, and Jessup converted on three free throws after getting fouled on a triple on the Broncos’ next possession for an 80-74 lead. The Tigers cut the deficit to four, but Dickinson capped his perfect 8-for-8 night at the line with two more freebies with 16 seconds left to provide the final margin. Hobbs joined Dickinson and Jessup in double-digit scoring with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The game was tied 14 times and there were 12 lead changes over 55 minutes of action. Boise State’s five seniors combined to score 25 of the team’s 26 points in the overtime periods.
The only other Boise State games to go beyond two overtimes were Boise State’s 102-101 quadruple-overtime win over San Jose State on Jan. 6, 2011, and the Broncos’ 107-102 triple OT victory against New Mexico State in the 2008 WAC Tournament championship game.
The Broncos are back in action against UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m. Friday at ExtraMile Arena.
CROSS COUNTRY: The Boise State women’s and men’s cross country teams finished 17th and 21st, respectively, at the NCAA National Championships on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana. Senior Miler Haller led all Broncos with a 30th-place finish in the men’s 10-kilometer race to earn All-America honors.
BOISE ST. 82, PACIFIC 76 (3OT)
BOISE ST. (3-2)
Hobbs 5-8 0-0 11, Jessup 6-18 7-8 22, Alston 2-12 0-0 6, Dickinson 3-7 8-8 16, Williams 3-9 2-4 8, Jorch 2-2 3-6 7, Dennis 3-4 0-0 8, Rice 1-4 1-2 4. Totals 25-64 21-28 82.
PACIFIC (5-3)
Tripp 7-17 8-9 22, McCray 0-1 1-2 1, Moore 4-12 6-7 14, Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0, Vereen 0-1 0-0 0, Bailey 3-6 1-2 8, Fritz 1-1 0-1 2, Hampshire 1-3 2-4 4, Finstuen 5-7 4-8 14, Chivichyan 4-9 1-2 11, Crockrell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 23-35 76.
Halftime — Boise St. 23-20. End Of Regulation — Tied 56. End Of 1st Overtime — Tied 63 . End Of 2nd Overtime — Tied 72. 3-Point Goals — Boise St. 11-23 (Jessup 3-10, Dennis 2-3, Alston 2-3, Dickinson 2-4, Hobbs 1-1, Rice 1-2), Pacific 3-12 (Chivichyan 2-4, Bailey 1-3, Finstuen 0-1, Tripp 0-4). Fouled Out — Hobbs, Alston. Rebounds — Boise St. 33 (Hobbs 9), Pacific 48 (Hampshire 12). Assists — Boise St. 10 (Dickinson 3), Pacific 7 (Moore, Crockrell, Tripp 2). Total Fouls — Boise St. 25, Pacific 25. A — 1,859 (6,150).
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 9:35 PM.
