Boise State men’s basketball crowns new 3-point king; women’s game decided on last shot
Boise State senior guard Justinian Jessup only made one basket in the first half, but it was a big one.
The senior from Longmont, Colorado, sank the 276th 3-pointer of his career with 40 seconds left before halftime, crowning him the program’s all-time leader. Jessup added four more triples in the second half as the Broncos handed UNLV its first Mountain West loss of the season, 73-66, on Wednesday night at ExtraMile Arena.
With 280 3-pointers, Jessup can set his sights on becoming the Mountain West’s career leader for triples. The record of 296 was established by BYU’s Jimmer Fredette from 2007 to 2011.
“Man, I just feel so thankful,” said Jessup, who broke Anthony Drmic’s record of 275. “All credit goes to God and the teammates I’ve had my four years here, that’s really why I’m in this position. Shooters aren’t anything without guys that are passing to them, so I’m just thankful for those guys that trusted me and stayed faithful in me even when I had bad games.”
There are only nine players in the country who have logged more minutes than Jessup this season, and Wednesday’s game was the 106th start of his Boise State career, a number that stands as the eighth-most in program history.
Jessup also ranks among the top 10 in program history for steals (133, No. 10) and needs 11 more blocked shots to tie for ninth.
“It’s not just the scoring. It’s not just the threes. It’s everything,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “I tried to get those guys out, but boy I had an itchy trigger finger when they were on the bench. I’m like, has he been out long enough?
“... He does so many things that you just can’t replace him. You replace him with one guy. Well, that one guy might be able to shoot and he might be able to guard, but he can’t do everything that (Jessup’s) doing.”
Jessup finished with 18 points, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. And in typical Jessup fashion, he tried to keep the focus on the team’s win in postgame interviews.
“I tried not to think about (the record),” Jessup said. “I really just wanted to win the game, most importantly, because this was a really big win. I hope (the record) doesn’t overshadow that.”
UNLV (8-9, 3-1 MW) entered Wednesday’s game 3-0 in league play for only the second time in program history, and the Rebels beat the Broncos in both meetings last season.
UNLV held the Broncos without a field goal for the first 5:03 before the Broncos found their shot. Abu Kigab ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
Derrick Alston Jr. took over from there, scoring nine straight points for the Broncos during a 4-minute stretch, and his 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave Boise State a 36-31 lead. Alston notched a game-best 26 points with 10 boards, and senior RJ Williams also registered a double-double — his sixth of the season — on 11 points and 10 rebounds. Abu Kigab chipped in 12 points to reach double-digit scoring for the sixth time in seven games.
“I think every day we’re just excited to come in and get better and work on the things we need to get better at,” Alston said. “No one wants to learn stuff losing, but we’ve been able to kind of turn those around into positives and get wins after them.
“It’s been fun, though, with this team just how much we’re growing. We’re still growing, and we’ve still got a lot left in front of us.”
Boise State (11-6, 3-2) takes on a Top 25 opponent Saturday when the Broncos play No. 7 San Diego State (16-0, 5-0) at 8 p.m. Mountain time at Viejas Arena in San Diego. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and available on the radio at 670 AM.
Note: Freshman RayJ Dennis started the first game of his collegiate career in place of senior point guard Marcus Dickinson, who had made 48 consecutive starts for the Broncos. Rice said Dickinson was bothered by a strained quad. Dennis played 27 minutes and went 0-for-4 from the field with two assists, one rebound and one turnover.
Women’s basketball: UNLV 66, Boise State 65
Riley Lupfer’s 3-point try at the buzzer was off the mark, sending the Boise State women’s basketball team to its second Mountain West Conference loss in three games.
UNLV secured the one-point victory on redshirt senior Latecia Smith’s layup with less than 10 seconds remaining Wednesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The Broncos (11-6, 3-2 MW) called a timeout after Smith’s go-ahead bucket and had 6.2 seconds to try for the game-winner, but Lupfer’s shot wouldn’t go. Boise State had led by as many as 12 points, 41-29, with 9:20 left in the third quarter.
“We didn’t perform or execute down the stretch of the game,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said in a press release. “That’s been the thing we have done well through the years and have not done that in our last two losses, especially in the fourth quarter.”
After trailing 39-29 at halftime, the Rebels (7-8, 3-1) outscored the Broncos 37-26 in the second half. Senior center Rodjanae Wade paved the way with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Smith contributed 12 points, four steals and three assists. UNLV also shot 53.8 percent and outscored the Broncos 16-8 in the final frame.
Boise State shot 59.2 percent in the first half and then just 20.7 percent in the second half. The Rebels limited the Broncos to only three points over the game’s final 8:33.
Lupfer and sophomore Rachel Bowers each scored 14 points to pace the Broncos, and Mallory McGwire and Jade Loville added 12 points apiece. Senior point guard Jayde Christopher padded her nation-leading assist total with 11 more in the loss.
Boise State will try to get back in the win column Saturday against San Diego State. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.
MEN: BOISE ST. 73, UNLV 66
UNLV (8-9, 3-1 MW)
Coleman 4-6 3-3 12, Hardy 3-13 2-4 10, Mbacke Diong 2-4 2-2 6, Hamilton 7-18 4-6 19, Antonio 2-10 0-0 5, Blair 2-2 2-2 6, Tillman 3-7 1-2 8, Dembele 0-0 0-0 0, Shibel 0-1 0-0 0, Green 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-61 14-19 66.
BOISE ST. (11-6, 3-2 MW)
Alston 7-19 10-12 26, Jessup 5-8 3-3 18, Kigab 2-3 7-10 12, Dennis 0-4 0-0 0, Jorch 1-2 2-2 4, Williams 5-9 1-4 11, Hobbs 1-2 0-0 2, Rice 0-2 0-0 0, Dickinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 23-31 73.
Halftime — Boise St. 36-31. 3-Point Goals—UNLV 6-25 (Hardy 2-7, Tillman 1-2, Coleman 1-3, Hamilton 1-4, Antonio 1-8, Shibel 0-1), Boise St. 8-19 (Jessup 5-6, Alston 2-6, Kigab 1-1, Dickinson 0-1, Hobbs 0-1, Rice 0-1, Dennis 0-3). Fouled Out — Antonio, Tillman. Rebounds — UNLV 32 (Hardy 8), Boise St. 30 (Alston, Williams 10). Assists — UNLV 8 (Hardy 4), Boise St. 10 (Jessup, Dennis, Hobbs 2). Total Fouls — UNLV 25, Boise St. 17. A — 4,509 (12,480).
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 9:11 PM.
