Boise State tops Air Force, matches men’s basketball program’s longest winning streak
Effort is the name of Abu Kigab’s game, and it was on full display Friday night.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward collected a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds to ensure the Boise State men’s basketball team an 80-69 victory over Air Force in a Mountain West matchup at ExtraMile Arena. Kigab also dished out a team-best five assists and went 11-for-20 from the field.
“I haven’t seen all of his games in his career, but that’s got to be one of his best,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told reporters in a post-game Zoom interview. “He made 25 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one turnover. I mean, he was terrific. He willed us in a big part of what we did, and it’s infectious. Everyone started doing their job at a higher level.”
In anticipation of an all-out effort, Kigab now wears knee pads when he suits up for games. He’s often the first to hit the floor in pursuit of a loose ball, and his knees were starting to take a beating.
“It’s a recent thing that I’ve started doing,” Kigab said. “I usually don’t wear knee pads, but I’ve been on the floor a lot more just doing those little things people know me for. I just needed the extra protection on my knees. I started getting knee bruises.”
Kigab and the Broncos (10-1, 6-0 MW) have made defensive dominance a priority this season, and it’s resulted in a 10-game winning streak, tying the program record also held by the 1987-88 and 2015-16 squads.
Boise State entered Friday’s game ranked No. 20 in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 60.5 points per game. The Broncos’ field-goal percentage defense is nearly as good, checking in at No. 22 at 38.294%.
“I love the hustle plays,” Kigab said. “... Games are really won on the defensive end and rebounding. You can see the stats, and they’ll back that up. Those plays just win games, and I love to win. I’m a winner, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win for my team. Coach does a great job with us, and I think we’re gonna just continue to get better and have that growth mindset.”
After beating the Falcons by 19 points on Wednesday, the Broncos fell behind 40-33 at halftime in Game 2. Kigab opened the second half with five points in 45 seconds to close the gap to 40-38, and less than 3 minutes later the Broncos regained the lead for good.
Air Force (3-7, 1-5) stayed in it by shooting 53.3% from the field, which is the highest percentage by a Boise State opponent this season. The Falcons also were 9-for-20 from 3-point range (45%).
Senior guard Chris Joyce connected on his third triple of the game to pull the Falcons within 63-62 with 6:24 remaining. Kigab once again answered with a bucket on the block followed by a pair of 3-pointers from Derrick Alston Jr. and a free throw from Marcus Shaver Jr.
And just like that, the Broncos had a double-digit lead, 72-62, with less than 4 minutes to play.
“He just doesn’t stop. His motor is on from minute one to minute forty,” Alston said of Kigab. “... He made a lot of really big plays for us.”
Alston did some damage of his own with 19 points, three assists, two steals and one block. Shaver added 14 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Mladen Armus contributed nine points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
Boise State played without the services of redshirt junior guard Emmanuel Akot, who Rice said is day-to-day with a “really tender Achilles.”
“How many times have I walked in the press room and said: ‘Man, the crowd got us going tonight,’” Rice said. “That’s such a new world where you’ve got to get it from within. That takes a lot. That’s hard to just get that from within in this empty building late at night and you’ve been battling your tail off all you can.
“... There’s been many, many times in my years here where this crowd propelled us to a great win. For these guys to go get that done on a night like this with the energy they played with, I just wish there would have been a crowd here, because they would have loved their effort.”
Boise State will be back in action for a two-game Mountain West series against Wyoming on Monday and Wednesday at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. MT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
WOMEN: BOISE STATE 71, AIR FORCE 49
Less than 48 hours after suffering a 24-point loss at Air Force, the Boise State women’s basketball team turned the tables on the Falcons with a 22-point victory Friday afternoon at Clune Arena in USAFA, Colorado.
The Broncos (6-1, 3-1 MW) tied a single-game program record with 12 blocks. Freshman forward Abby Muse contributed seven of those blocks, including a school-record five in the second quarter.
Muse’s seven blocks are tied for the second-most in program history behind nine from the aptly named Stephanie Block against North Texas in 2000.
“I thought our kids came to play today, and they battled fatigue and battled elevation,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell told Chris Lewis in a post-game radio interview on 1350 AM. “I thought Jade Loville hit big shots, Mallory (McGwire) hit big shots, and then we have a group of freshmen that, when they want to play, they can get it done.”
Loville led four Broncos in double figures with 18 points. It was her 10th consecutive double-digit game dating back to last season and marked the sixth time in seven games this season that she has led Boise State in scoring.
True freshmen guards Mary Kay Naro and Anna Ostlie each set career highs with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Naro also had a team-best six assists to go with three rebounds and one steal.
Freshman Alexis Mark was the other Bronco in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds. Muse added a team-high eight rebounds.
“Everyone kind of fulfilled their role that we talked about, and it’s a big win for us,” Presnell said. “That’s quite a point differential from losing by how many we lost by the day before yesterday and then win by this much today, so that’s a tribute to those guys.”
Boise State shot 50.8% from the floor and held Air Force to 31.5%. The Falcons’ 49 points are the fewest the Broncos have given up in a conference road game since Air Force had 47 on Feb. 17, 2018. It was the seventh time in the past 11 meetings the Broncos have held the Falcons to 50 points or less.
The Broncos only shot 3-for-16 (18.8%) from 3-point range in the win, but it was an improvement from the 0-for-12 performance in Game 1. Until Thursday’s loss, the Broncos had gone 264 consecutive games with at least one made triple dating back to 2012.
The Broncos resume Mountain West play against Wyoming on Monday and Wednesday at ExtraMile Arena. Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network, which is available at BroncoSports.com/mwn.
“I think we’ve got to stay on them,” Presnell said. “We don’t have much of a turnaround. This weekend we get ready for Wyoming, and we play Monday and Wednesday. Hopefully we can have some momentum with playing at home.”
MEN: BOISE STATE 80, AIR FORCE 69
AIR FORCE (3-7, 1-5 MW)
Jackson 0-2 2-2 2, Joyce 7-11 0-0 17, McClintock 5-7 2-2 14, Van Soelen 1-5 1-1 3, Walker 8-14 3-4 23, Akaya 3-6 4-4 10, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-45 12-13 69.
BOISE STATE (10-1, 6-0 MW)
Armus 4-5 1-4 9, Kigab 11-20 1-2 25, Alston 5-9 6-6 19, Dennis 1-6 0-0 2, Shaver 5-8 3-5 14, Doutrive 2-4 0-0 4, Rice 3-7 0-0 7. Totals 31-59 11-17 80.
Halftime—Air Force 40-33. 3-Point Goals—Air Force 9-20 (Walker 4-6, Joyce 3-5, McClintock 2-3, Jackson 0-1, Van Soelen 0-2, Akaya 0-3), Boise State 7-17 (Alston 3-6, Kigab 2-3, Rice 1-3, Shaver 1-4, Dennis 0-1). Fouled Out—Jackson, Armus. Rebounds—Air Force 19 (Joyce 5), Boise State 29 (Kigab 11). Assists—Air Force 11 (Walker 4), Boise State 13 (Kigab 5). Total Fouls—Air Force 18, Boise State 18.
WOMEN: BOISE STATE 71, AIR FORCE 49
BOISE STATE (6-1, 3-1 MW)
Jade Loville 9-18 0-0 18; Mary Kay Naro 6-9 2-4 14; Anna Ostlie 4-9 1-2 11; Alexis Mark 5-7 0-0 10; Rachel Bowers 3-5 2-2 8; Mallory McGwire 3-6 0-0 7; Cristina Gil 1-1 0-0 2; Abby Muse 0-2 1-2 1; Elodie Lalotte 0-1 0-0 0; Raigan Reed 0-1 0-0 0; Martina Machalova 0-0 0-0 0; Kimora Sykes 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 6-10 71.
AIR FORCE (3-6, 1-3 MW)
Briana Autrey 7-13 4-4 19; Kaelin Immel 3-11 3-4 10; Riley Snyder 3-15 0-0 6; Emily Conroe 2-7 0-0 5; Kassady Huffman 1-1 3-4 5; Kayla Pilson 1-4 0-0 2; Cierra Winters 0-2 2-2 2; Nikki McDonald 0-1 0-0 0; Dasha Macmillan 0-0 0-0 0; Audrey Gadison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 12-14 49.
Boise State...................... 16 15 15 25 — 71
Air Force..................... 7 10 16 16 — 49
3-point goals — Boise State 3-16 (Ostlie 2-7; McGwire 1-3; Reed 0-1; Sykes 0-2; Naro 0-1; Loville 0-2), Air Force 3-15 (Conroe 1-4; Immel 1-5; Autrey 1-1; Pilson 0-1; Snyder 0-4). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Boise State 33 (Muse 8), Air Force 33 (Conroe 7). Assists — Boise State 18 (Naro 6), Air Force 7 (Snyder 2). Total fouls — Boise State 16, Air Force 12. Technical fouls — None.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 8:07 PM.
