Hobbs goes off, Jessup bests Jimmer and Boise State men keep it rolling at Wyoming
A winter storm with high winds, snow and negative temperatures complicated Boise State’s journey to Laramie, Wyoming, for a Mountain West Conference men’s basketball game.
But the true challenge was leaving Arena-Auditorium with a win.
Boise State defeated Wyoming 67-62 on Tuesday night behind a career-high 24 points from Alex Hobbs. The victory extended the Broncos’ conference winning streak to five games, a feat last accomplished during the 2014-15 season.
Hobbs finished 10-for-15 from the floor and scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half. He made back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game, the second of which put Boise State ahead for good, 57-55, with 4 minutes, 24 seconds to play. Hobbs’ previous career high was 21 points, a mark he reached on three occasions.
“Alex played one of his best games of the season,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told Bob Behler in a postgame radio interview on 93.1 FM. “But like I told Alex and the team in the locker room, I was more impressed with his defense, his moxie and his talking to our guys right. He brought the energy and he kept guys from getting frustrated. We were able to regroup and find a way to get it done.”
Although the Broncos never surrendered the lead after Hobbs’ second triple, last-place Wyoming made it a one-possession game three more times before the buzzer sounded. Senior Justinian Jessup scored six points over the final 3:03 — including a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line — to help the Broncos (16-8, 8-4 Mountain West) maintain a share of second place in the conference standings. Jessup, Hobbs and RJ Williams combined to score Boise State’s last 26 points of the game.
“I just want to bring that spark off the bench and, you know, do what I do — be a scorer, be a playmaker,” Hobbs said. “I kind of got hot early and just stayed aggressive throughout the whole thing.”
Jessup broke the Mountain West’s career 3-point record on his first 3-point attempt of the game. His triple with 16:54 on the clock in the first half was the 297th of his career, breaking a tie with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. Jessup made two 3-pointers in the game and totaled 16 points.
But Hobbs and Jessup weren’t the only Broncos to reach career milestones against the Cowboys (6-18, 1-11).
Redshirt freshman Max Rice went a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. The four triples are the most he’s made in a single game at BSU, and his 12 points matches a career high. Max Rice’s performance helped make up for an off night from starters Derrick Alston Jr., the Broncos’ leading scorer, and RayJ Dennis. Both players finished with just two points.
“I was proud of the bench tonight,” Leon Rice said. “Max really saved our bacon in the first half. Four-for-four from three, I thought that was huge and kind of kept the game right where it needed to be. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble.”
The game was tied at 33 at halftime, the lead changed hands 13 times and the game was tied on six occasions. The Cowboys converted 16 Boise State turnovers into 18 points and led for 25:18.
“ ‘There’s no pictures in the scorebook’ is what we always say,” Leon Rice said. “Sometimes you run into a game like that, and you’ve just got to find a way to win it. Credit to our guys, they just kept sawing wood.”
Before tipoff, Leon Rice told 93.1 FM that junior forward Abu Kigab would not play against Wyoming. Kigab sustained a hip pointer during the Broncos’ win over San Jose State last week, and the injury was still bothering him.
“That’s a tough hop, because he’s been adding so much to our physicality and energy and enthusiasm,” Rice said. “His hip is just really, really bothering him. I think the time we can buy him right now is gonna help him in the long run instead of just trying to piece him together and tape him together. … We need him healthy and we need him for the stretch run.”
Rice said Kigab’s status would be reevaluated Thursday to determine if he can play Saturday at Utah State. That game tips off at 8 p.m. Mountain time in Logan, Utah, and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The Broncos defeated the Aggies 88-83 in overtime on Jan. 11 to spark their current win streak.
BOISE ST. 67, WYOMING 62
BOISE ST. (16-8, 8-4 MW)
Alston 0-7 2-2 2, Dennis 1-3 0-0 2, Dickinson 0-2 2-2 2, Jessup 5-12 4-4 16, Williams 3-6 3-4 9, Hobbs 10-15 2-2 24, Rice 4-8 0-0 12, Jorch 0-0 0-0 0, Abercrombie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 13-14 67.
WYOMING (6-18, 1-11 MW)
Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Hendricks 2-11 1-2 6, Maldonado 7-12 3-6 17, Marble 4-11 2-2 11, Taylor 2-3 2-2 6, Foster 4-8 3-3 12, Milton 2-3 2-2 7, Porter 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 22-49 13-17 62.
Halftime—33-33. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 8-22 (Rice 4-5, Hobbs 2-2, Jessup 2-6, Abercrombie 0-1, Dennis 0-2, Dickinson 0-2, Alston 0-4), Wyoming 5-19 (Porter 1-1, Milton 1-2, Foster 1-3, Marble 1-3, Hendricks 1-9, Maldonado 0-1). Rebounds—Boise St. 29 (Williams 13), Wyoming 27 (Taylor 9). Assists—Boise St. 12 (Rice 3), Wyoming 8 (Marble 3). Total Fouls—Boise St. 17, Wyoming 19. A—2,892 (15,028).
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 11:26 PM.
