Tough defense, clutch 3-pointer send Boise State men’s basketball to win at BYU
The Boise State men’s basketball team was down a starter on the road. Two Broncos fouled out with more than 8 minutes left and two others stayed on the court with four fouls.
Difficult odds, but certainly not impossible.
Emmanuel Akot sank a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to break a tie and push Boise State past BYU 74-70 on Wednesday night at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
RayJ Dennis assisted Akot on the game-winning bucket, and Dennis finished with a team-leading 19 points — tying his career high — on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor. Dennis also had a game-high five assists and three rebounds.
“I loved that shot. (Akot), you know, that’s what he does,” said Boise State senior forward Abu Kigab, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. “(Assistant) coach (Tim) Duryea drew up a play. I was supposed to set a screen for (Derrick Alston Jr.) in the corner. He’s supposed to get a three. (Akot’s) man helped. RayJ made a great pass. (Akot) shot a rhythm three. Boom.”
Akot, a transfer from Arizona who was playing just his second game in a Boise State uniform, made the critical triple following a Boise State timeout with 19.8 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 70. Akot — whose nickname is “E-man” — notched a career-high 13 points and provided the bookends on the win, opening and closing the game with a 3-pointer.
“What a great play by RayJ at the end. We put the ball in his hands, and he made a great decision coming off,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “They took away (Alston) in the corner, he found a wide open (Akot), and (Akot) made a big three. I’m so happy for him and all these guys.”
BYU senior guard Alex Barcello attempted a game-tying 3-pointer on the Cougars’ ensuing possession, but Barcello’s shot didn’t drop and Boise State redshirt sophomore Max Rice corralled the rebound and drew a foul with 1.9 seconds to play. Rice made 1-of-2 free throws to account for the final margin.
The Broncos managed the win despite reserve big man Lukas Milner fouling out with 10:18 left in the game followed by starter Mladen Armus to the same fate with 8:11 remaining. That left 6-foot-7 Kigab as the Broncos’ interior defender against BYU’s 7-3 center Matt Haarms.
The foul trouble continued when Akot picked up his fourth foul with 8:05 to go, and Kigab was whistled for his fourth foul at the 3:29 mark.
“That’s basketball. Stuff happens, and it’s just how you respond,” Kigab said. “This could happen to us in another game. Other teams are probably watching this game and saying, ‘Go at their bigs, go at their guards, get them in foul trouble. They’re not that deep.’ We’re going to continue to do what we do, play defense.”
Akot’s game-opening 3-pointer was the start of a 14-0 Boise State run. BYU (5-2) missed its first eight shot attempts, committed 11 turnovers and went 1-for-10 from deep in the first half. The Broncos held the Cougars to a season-low seven triples overall.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good defensive team,” Rice said. “We’re long ... we’re hard to score over, and we get a lot of deflections and get our hands on a lot of balls. We’re only going to get better at that.”
Boise State redshirt junior guard Marcus Shaver Jr. was ruled out of Wednesday’s game because of a foot injury, according to an emailed statement from a team spokesperson about an hour before tipoff. There is no timetable for Shaver’s return.
Shaver started the Broncos’ first three games of the 2020-21 season and is averaging 12.3 points and 5 rebounds per game. However, Shaver played just 8 minutes in Boise State’s previous win over College of Idaho on Dec. 4 at ExtraMile Arena, and Rice said after that victory that Shaver’s foot had been “bothering him” and he had been held out of “a lot of practices.”
Boise State (3-1) was scheduled to host Santa Clara in a nonconference matchup Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena, but a Boise State spokesperson said late Wednesday night that the game was off. The Broncos are working to find a replacement game. If a replacement can’t be found, the Broncos’ next game would be their Mountain West opener against New Mexico on Dec. 21.
“This was a big win, but we’re not satisfied,” Kigab said. “We have got a lot of tough teams on our schedule and we just have to take it one day at a time, one game at a time. That’s our mentality, and we’re just going to stick with it and see how far it takes us.”
NOTES: Boise State was 1-6 all-time at BYU going into Wednesday’s game, with the Broncos’ lone road win coming on Dec. 13, 1996. ... Boise State’s 72-68 overtime win against BYU last season at ExtraMile Arena was the first meeting between the two programs in 11 years. ... Barcello led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. ... The Cougars have three former Idaho high school players on their roster. Highland’s Connor Harding started the game against BSU and finished with three points, two rebounds and two assists. Rocky Mountain’s Kolby Lee logged 3 minutes off the bench and freshman Townsend Tripple of Rocky Mountain did not play.
Fans can purchase cutouts for ExtraMile Arena
With fans currently unable to attend Boise State basketball home games at ExtraMile Arena because of the state’s return to Stage 2 of the Idaho Rebounds plan, fans can purchase cutouts to show their support of the Broncos.
Personalized cutouts are available for $50 each and can be purchased online at boise-state-fan-cutouts.aaaflag.com.
Cutouts will be placed in seating behind the baselines, either in sections 11-13 on the west side or sections 1, 2 and 22 on the east side of the arena. Orders will be installed on a regular basis and accepted throughout the winter season.
BOISE ST. 74, BYU 70
BOISE ST. (3-1)
Armus 0-2 1-2 1, Kigab 5-11 2-4 14, Akot 4-12 3-4 13, Alston 5-12 2-3 12, Dennis 8-12 3-4 19, Rice 3-6 1-2 9, Milner 2-3 2-2 6, N.Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 14-21 74.
BYU (5-2)
Lohner 0-4 2-2 2, Haarms 7-10 4-6 18, Averette 2-7 0-0 4, Barcello 7-11 4-6 22, Harding 1-3 1-2 3, Johnson 4-5 0-0 10, Harward 4-5 0-2 8, Lowell 1-3 0-0 3, Knell 0-3 0-0 0, George 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Erickson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 11-18 70.
Halftime — Boise St. 30-21. 3-Point Goals — Boise St. 6-10 (Akot 2-3, Rice 2-3, Kigab 2-4), BYU 7-21 (Barcello 4-6, Johnson 2-2, Lowell 1-3, Haarms 0-1, Knell 0-1, Harding 0-2, Averette 0-3, Lohner 0-3). Fouled Out — Armus, Milner. Rebounds — Boise St. 33 (Akot 6), BYU 30 (Lohner, Averette 6). Assists — Boise St. 12 (Dennis 5), BYU 14 (Averette 4). Total Fouls — Boise St. 23, BYU 20.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 6:46 PM.
