Alston climbs career scoring list as Boise State handles New Mexico in league opener
For a taste of exactly how Boise State’s Mountain West men’s basketball opener went against New Mexico, consider this: Derrick Alston Jr. scored nine points in a span of 1 minute, 2 seconds.
Alston finished with a game-high 20 points — including three dunks — as the Broncos polished off the Lobos 77-53 on Monday night at ExtraMile Arena. The two teams meet again at 8 p.m. Wednesday, also at ExtraMile (CBS Sports Network).
Alston’s nine-point outburst began with 8:53 on the clock in the second half and was part of a 25-5 Boise State run. He sank back-to-back 3-pointers topped off by a three-point play that made it 63-39 with 7:51 left in the game. It was Alston’s third 20-point outing of the season and the 25th of his career.
“It was fun,” Alston said in a postgame Zoom interview. “I kinda get spurts like that where I just get the right kind of shots and knock ‘em down and then getting the and-one layup at the end. That was definitely a lot of fun and that helped the run and helped us kind of spark and open the game up. I was definitely happy about that.”
Alston, the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, now has 1,098 career points, moving into a tie for 18th on Boise State’s all-time scoring list with Reggie Larry (2006-08).
“I’m immune to it, which I shouldn’t be,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said when asked whether he’s ever awed in the moment by Alston’s ability.
Four Boise State players scored in double figures, and the Broncos (5-1, 1-0 MW) shot a combined 58% (30-for-52) from the field. Sophomore guard RayJ Dennis totaled 16 points, five assists and three steals and Abu Kigab and Emmanuel Akot contributed 12 points apiece. Akot also added a team-leading eight rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and one steal.
“We are a team that has some spurt ability, and we started with our defense,” Rice said. “… Give New Mexico credit, they were grinding it and making it kind of a scrappy, ugly game. We just kind of hung in there with our defense.
“… I think they cut it to six (points), maybe, and then we exploded with our defense and rebounding and that got us running. That led to some easy baskets and some good looks. Then, boom, before you know it (the lead) was at 20 (points).”
The Broncos made it look easy against the Lobos despite the absence of two impact players.
Although the NCAA Division I Council granted a blanket waiver Dec. 16 that allows all transfer student-athletes to compete immediately this season, junior guard Devonaire Doutrive did not make his Boise State debut against the Lobos (3-1, 0-1). The transfer from Arizona was on the bench in street clothes along with redshirt junior guard Marcus Shaver Jr.
Doutrive was expected to be eligible at the conclusion of the first semester, which wrapped up with finals this week. When asked about Doutrive’s status after the game, Rice provided little clarity.
“There’s some things that have to be done in private, and that’s what we’re working through,” Rice said.
Shaver, who started the Broncos’ first three games of the season, has sat out the Broncos’ last three games with a left foot injury. Rice said after Monday’s win that Shaver remains “day-to-day.”
“We’re being cautious,” Rice said. “I don’t want to keep injuring him.”
The Mountain West altered this season’s league schedule to reduce travel and potential exposure to COVID-19. That means teams are playing two-game series with conference opponents at one location. While it’s unusual to play the same team in back-to-back games, Rice said it beats the alternative of not playing at all.
“Everybody in the world’s going through something,” he said. “Even if I start paying too much attention to the news or anything where you go: ‘Man, there’s some tough things going on out there.’ You feel bad for all that. But then I get to come here with these guys and you just always walk out of this gym lifted up.”
Boise State’s 24-point win over New Mexico is the Broncos’ largest margin of victory in a conference opener since defeating Eastern Washington 73-49 on Jan. 12, 1996. Still, the Broncos left room for improvement after giving up 11 offensive rebounds to the Lobos. The only team to pull down more offensive boards against the Broncos this season was No. 6 Houston with 15.
“Everybody in the locker room is just antsy to get back out there on Wednesday,” Alston said. “... We’re always just looking to improve and analyze how we can get a lot better. Good is the enemy of great, and we want to be a great team.”
NOTES: UMass Lowell transfer Donovan Ivory made his Boise State debut in the final minute of the second half. … Dennis has scored in double figures five times this season. … The Broncos grabbed a season-high 10 steals and have totaled seven or more steals in six straight games, a feat last accomplished by a Boise State team during the 2009-10 season.
BOISE ST. 77, NEW MEXICO 53
NEW MEXICO (3-1, 0-1 MW)
Brown 0-3 2-2 2, Matos 2-5 0-0 4, Francis 0-5 0-0 0, Singleton 2-3 1-5 5, Maluach 5-12 2-3 13, Manuel 2-6 2-2 6, Kuac 1-5 0-0 2, Wegscheider 3-4 2-3 8, McGee 2-4 0-0 6, Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Padgett 0-1 0-0 0, Marin 0-2 0-2 0, Patterson 0-1 1-2 1, Dorsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 10-19 53.
BOISE ST. (5-1, 1-0 MW)
Armus 1-3 1-2 3, Kigab 4-7 4-6 12, Akot 4-8 4-6 12, Alston 8-13 1-3 20, Dennis 7-11 1-1 16, Rice 3-5 0-0 7, Milner 2-2 1-2 5, N.Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 1-1 0-0 2, Pryor 0-1 0-0 0, Ivory 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-52 12-20 77.
Halftime—Boise St. 36-26. 3-Point Goals—New Mexico 5-15 (McGee 2-3, Johnson 1-1, Maluach 1-2, Manuel 0-1, Marin 0-1, Patterson 0-1, Kuac 0-2, Francis 0-3), Boise St. 5-15 (Alston 3-5, Dennis 1-3, Rice 1-3, Kigab 0-1, Pryor 0-1, Akot 0-2). Rebounds—New Mexico 27 (Singleton, Kuac 4), Boise St. 33 (Akot 8). Assists—New Mexico 8 (Singleton 3), Boise St. 19 (Dennis 5). Total Fouls—New Mexico 18, Boise St. 20.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 7:16 PM.
