‘Banged up’ Alston drops 27 points for Boise State’s first victory of the season
RayJ Dennis was right.
After Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Derrick Alston Jr. failed to score in Boise State’s season opener at No. 17 Houston, Dennis said he wasn’t even worried.
Alston quieted any lingering concerns with a 27-point outing in the Broncos’ 86-55 victory over Sam Houston State on Sunday afternoon in the Southwest Showcase at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Alston finished 7-for-16 from the floor and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line with four triples and a pair of assists.
“I think it was tough being at home and not getting a point up. It happens. I didn’t dwell on it too much. I knew that we had another game coming soon,” said Alston, who attended Strake Jesuit High in Houston. “My grandfather sent me a really good thing. He said there’s no sin in getting knocked down, so I just had to get back up stronger. I was ready to go today, and my teammates really got me involved today, so it was a good game.”
Alston scored 10 of Boise State’s first 18 points and had 17 points by halftime as the Broncos (1-1) built a 42-27 lead.
“He’s a little banged up. He hurt his foot about five or six days ago and was limited in practice,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said of Alston. “But this is his homecoming, it’s his home state, and that Houston game was a tough one for him. That’s not a team you can limp around against and be good enough.
“DA’s just a really good basketball player, and the game’s easy for him when we play the right way and he makes others better. It’s not all about his scoring.”
With Alston back in his groove, the Broncos thrived throughout their lineup. Marcus Shaver Jr. chipped in 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists before fouling out, and Dennis contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and a team-leading seven assists. Abu Kigab checked in with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, while big man Mladen Armus pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to go with six points.
The Broncos dished out 18 assists, and at one point in the second half all eight players who had logged playing time had at least one assist.
“Everybody was just moving the ball, making that extra pass today, just moving with a purpose,” Shaver said. “That really helped open up our offense.”
Rice emptied his bench with the Broncos up big in the second half, allowing freshmen Kasean Pryor, Sam Winter, Pavle Kuzmanovic and Burke Smith to see their first minutes in blue and orange. Kuzmanovic even knocked down a jumper and a 3-pointer for the game’s final margin.
“You’re gonna look at the score and think it was just a bad team and an easy game. It wasn’t that at all,” Rice said. “I thought we did a great job defensively. I thought we did a great job on the boards. We moved the ball well, and we took care of the ball pretty darn well. For the second night on a road trip, I thought that we got better. We got better because of this trip, and that was the goal.
“We got some games under us, which in this climate and this atmosphere, we appreciate that opportunity.”
Boise State is scheduled to begin Mountain West action with a two-game series Thursday and Saturday against New Mexico at ExtraMile Arena. The Lobos have been limited by New Mexico’s COVID-19 restrictions and are currently practicing at South Plains College in Lubbock, Texas. Tipoff times have not been announced, but Fox Sports 1’s programming schedule lists Thursday’s game at 7 p.m.
“They’re on the schedule. We plan on playing, so we’ll see,” Rice said.
If the New Mexico series gets moved — the women’s teams are now scheduled to play the first week of March — the Broncos’ next game would be at BYU on Dec. 9.
BOISE ST. 86, SAM HOUSTON ST. 55
BOISE ST. (1-1): Armus 1-4 4-4 6, Kigab 5-9 0-0 11, Alston 7-16 9-9 27, Dennis 5-12 1-2 13, Shaver 4-10 8-10 18, Rice 1-8 0-0 2, N.Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Milner 0-1 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 2-2 0-0 5, Akot 0-0 0-0 0, Pryor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 22-25 86.
SAM HOUSTON ST. (0-3): Crump 2-2 1-2 5, Ikpe 2-6 0-0 4, Lampley 2-5 0-1 4, Nutall 7-18 6-6 22, Powers 1-1 0-0 3, Monroe 1-7 1-1 3, May 0-2 1-2 1, Hellums 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas 1-2 4-6 6, Robertson 0-1 1-3 1, Cook 1-5 0-0 2, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Scroggins 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-53 14-21 55.
Halftime—Boise St. 42-27. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 10-35 (Alston 4-10, Shaver 2-5, Dennis 2-8, Kuzmanovic 1-1, Kigab 1-3, Pryor 0-1, N.Smith 0-2, Rice 0-5), Sam Houston St. 3-18 (Nutall 2-6, Powers 1-1, Hellums 0-1, May 0-1, Lampley 0-2, Monroe 0-3, Cook 0-4). Fouled Out—Shaver. Rebounds—Boise St. 46 (Armus 12), Sam Houston St. 23 (Ikpe 5). Assists—Boise St. 18 (Dennis 7), Sam Houston St. 8 (Nutall, Monroe 2). Total Fouls—Boise St. 19, Sam Houston St. 23.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
