Boise State leaves Hawaii tournament with winning record, picks up four-star transfer
Derrick Alston Jr. may have led the Boise State men’s basketball team with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but it took a total team effort in the final minutes to secure a victory on Christmas Day.
UTEP twice cut Boise State’s lead to two points down the stretch, and both times the Broncos responded for a 72-67 win in the fifth-place game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Wednesday at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. The Broncos finished 2-1 in the tournament and improved to 8-5 overall.
“These guys keep fighting and they’re believing in the coaches, and we believe in them,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told Bob Behler in a postgame radio interview on 670 AM. “This team is headed for some good things. I really feel it.”
First it was newly eligible Abu Kigab who kissed a jumper off the glass for a 67-63 Boise State advantage with 1:11 to play, and then Justinian Jessup found Alston on an inbound play with 2 seconds left on the shot clock for a 69-65 lead with 21.6 seconds remaining.
With the Miners (9-4) threatening to make it a one-possession game once again, senior point guard Marcus Dickinson jumped in front of a UTEP pass for a steal and then drew a foul, with the Broncos already in the bonus. Dickinson made both free throws for a 71-65 lead with 17.3 to play, and RJ Williams corralled a rebound on the ensuing UTEP possession for another set of freebies.
“We were running in mud a little bit in the first half. We didn’t score like we wanted to, didn’t move the ball like we wanted to,” said Rice, whose Broncos led 29-27 at halftime. “But we adjusted in the second half, and that’s on my guys. They knew what they had to do.”
In just his third game as a Bronco, Kigab notched the first double-double of his career, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Redshirt senior center Robin Jorch chipped in 10 points — the fourth double-digit scoring outing of his career — and Williams had eight points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Alex Hobbs contributed all nine of his points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first half.
“It feels amazing, man. There’s nothing like playing basketball,” said Kigab, a transfer from Oregon. “I’ve been sitting out for a whole year, so just getting an opportunity to be out there, touching the ball, passing to my teammates, you know, it’s the best feeling ever.”
The Broncos now lead the all-time series against UTEP 7-6. The two programs met 11 times as members of the Western Athletic Conference from 2002 to 2005, and last played in the opening round of the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-off at Myrtle Beach, a game Boise State won 58-56.
Boise State hosts Cal State Northridge (3-10) at 4 p.m. Saturday at ExtraMile Arena. Alston teamed up with fellow members of the BroncoLife program to spearhead a coat drive for the Boise Rescue Mission ahead of the nonconference matchup. Fans who donate a new or gently used coat will receive a discounted $7 ticket to the game. Coat donations will begin when the doors open at 3 p.m.
Notes: UTEP cut Boise State’s lead to one possession nine times in the last 16 minutes. ... Alston has scored at least 20 points in 10 of Boise State’s 13 games this season. ... The Broncos were plus-24 in rebounds over the final two games of the Diamond Head Classic after being outrebounded by 16 in the opener against Georgia Tech.
Second Arizona transfer officially joins Broncos
Devonaire Doutrive first announced his commitment to the Boise State men’s basketball team on Twitter during the Mountain West football championship game on Dec. 7.
The 6-foot-5 native of Dallas, Texas, was formally added to the Broncos’ program on Tuesday when he signed a financial aid agreement. He will enroll at Boise State for the spring semester after playing in 29 games at Arizona during his three semesters with the Wildcats.
“Devonaire is a dynamic player who fits who we are and how we play,” Rice said in a press release. “He understands what we want to accomplish and our culture. We are really excited to welcome him to the program and help him continue to develop.”
Doutrive, a 2018 graduate of Birmingham High in Inglewood, Calif., will be eligible to compete for the Broncos at the conclusion of the fall 2020 semester, with three semesters of competition remaining.
“Boise State was the right choice because it’s a program of development,” Doutrive said. “I feel like I need to be in a place where I can get better and where it feels like home. The staff is full of great coaches with great personalities. It feels like a family and they’re all in, all together.”
A consensus four-star prospect in high school, Doutrive averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds as a freshman in 2018-19 at Arizona. He then appeared in three games this season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. His 85 scout grade from ESPN is the second-highest rating for a Boise State signee, behind only Doutrive’s former Arizona teammate and current Bronco Emmanuel Akot.
Doutrive was dismissed from Arizona for a violation of team rules in late November. He also sat out the first two games of the season for another unspecified violation of team rules.
BOISE ST. 72, UTEP 67
BOISE ST. (8-5)
Alston 8-14 6-7 23, Jessup 3-13 0-0 7, Kigab 5-12 0-0 11, Dickinson 1-1 2-2 4, Hobbs 4-5 0-0 9, Jorch 3-4 4-5 10, R.Williams 3-9 2-4 8, Dennis 0-1 0-0 0, Rice 0-0 0-0 0, Abercrombie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 14-18 72.
UTEP (9-4)
Edwards 6-9 0-0 14, Lathon 4-10 0-0 10, Boum 3-9 3-3 11, Tarke 2-7 1-2 5, B.Williams 3-9 0-0 6, Archie 4-5 2-4 11, Odigie 3-7 0-0 6, Vila 2-3 0-0 4, Hawkins 0-2 0-0 0, Verhoeven 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 6-9 67.
Halftime — Boise St. 29-27. 3-Point Goals — Boise St. 4-20 (Hobbs 1-2, Kigab 1-4, Alston 1-5, Jessup 1-8, Abercrombie 0-1), UTEP 7-20 (Edwards 2-4, Lathon 2-4, Boum 2-7, Archie 1-1, Hawkins 0-1, B.Williams 0-1, Tarke 0-2). Fouled Out — Jorch. Rebounds — Boise St. 41 (Kigab 10), UTEP 30 (Tarke 8). Assists — Boise St. 13 (Alston 6), UTEP 11 (Lathon 3). Total Fouls — Boise St. 11, UTEP 20.
This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 5:27 PM.
