San Diego State sweeps Boise State to end Broncos’ regular-season title hopes
San Diego State had gladly allowed Boise State to sling 3-pointers all afternoon at Viejas Arena, clogging the paint to avoid one-on-one matchups against the Broncos’ gifted arsenal.
But the Aztecs’ strategy changed over the final 8.7 seconds of Saturday’s Mountain West showdown in San Diego. There was no way the Broncos were going to get a look from deep.
No. 22 San Diego State won the foul-game chess match in the final seconds to defeat Boise State 62-58 and stay in control of its regular-season title hopes. The series sweep cost the Broncos (18-6, 14-5 MW) a shot at their first regular-season championship since 2015. The Aztecs can wrap up a second straight regular-season title with a win at UNLV next week.
“Our guys hate to lose. Our staff hates to lose,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a postgame Zoom interview. “But we played a good team. Like I always say, it’s a zero sum game. Somebody’s gotta win. Somebody’s gotta lose. But we don’t like it. It doesn’t sit well with us.”
Boise State, which entered the series in first place and left in fourth, trimmed San Diego State’s lead to 56-55 on a drive and layup from junior Devonaire Doutrive with 16.2 seconds left. Following a timeout, the Broncos fouled San Diego State senior Jordan Schakel, who made both ensuing free throws to push the Aztecs’ advantage to 58-55.
Perhaps having learned their lesson after a RayJ Dennis triple sent the teams to overtime on Thursday night, the Aztecs purposely fouled the rest of the way with the Broncos in the double bonus. Doutrive ended up at the free-throw line twice for the Broncos as a result. He made two freebies with 5.9 seconds left to make it a one-point game, 58-57, and was 1-for-2 with 3.8 seconds left for a 60-58 deficit.
The Broncos had hoped to get a steal or jumpball after each of Doutrive’s trips to the line, but to no avail. San Diego State’s Schakel and senior forward Matt Mitchell combined to go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final 8.7 seconds to preserve the win.
“We had the possession arrow, and I thought we had a tie-up down at their end, too,” Rice said. “If we could have kept making free throws and all the sudden you get a tie-up, then you do have a chance to hit the last shot. We just couldn’t get there.”
Schakel was the only Aztec to score in double figures. He totaled 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and knocked down three triples. Senior guard Terrell Gomez added nine points, and Mitchell and junior forward Nathan Mensah contributed eight points apiece to help San Diego State win its 10th game in a row.
“That was a big-time college basketball game,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “Boise came ready to play, but so did the Aztecs. I take great comfort in having five seniors in the starting lineup. They make a coach look good.”
Less than 48 hours after losing to the Aztecs (19-4, 13-3) in overtime because of a slow start, the Broncos found themselves struggling on the offensive end once again Saturday. Boise State was 7-for-31 (22.6%) from the floor and 2-for-18 (11.1%) from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, resulting in a 24-20 halftime deficit.
Although the Broncos’ shooting improved in the second half — 52.2% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc — they never could quite take the lead. Boise State got within one point five times over the final 4:23 at 49-48, 52-51, 54-53, 56-55 and 58-57.
“I’ve got great guys who are true competitors,” Rice said. “They’re hurting in that locker room. They wanted to win that so bad. We’ve gotta pick up the pieces and get back to fighting, because this team’s got a lot of good things ahead of them still.”
Redshirt junior Mladen Armus notched a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Broncos, while Doutrive and Marcus Shaver Jr. added 13 points apiece. After scoring 23 points or more in four consecutive games, redshirt senior Derrick Alston Jr. was limited to seven points on 2-for-12 shooting.
The Broncos close out their Mountain West regular-season schedule against Fresno State. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena, and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. A radio broadcast is available on 1350 AM.
The Mountain West Tournament is March 10-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“It’s the mental part that’s the most important,” Rice said. “At this stage in the game, there wasn’t many X and O flaws with what we did. It’s the mental stuff that can make the difference in the next 72 hours.”
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO ST. 62, BOISE ST. 58
BOISE ST. (18-6, 14-5 MW)
Armus 3-5 4-4 10, Kigab 0-5 1-2 1, Alston 2-12 2-2 7, Dennis 2-6 3-4 7, Shaver 6-12 0-0 13, Doutrive 4-7 3-4 13, Akot 1-4 2-2 5, Rice 1-3 0-0 2, Milner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 15-18 58.
SAN DIEGO ST. (19-4, 13-3 MW)
Mitchell 2-11 3-6 8, Tomaic 3-3 1-2 7, Gomez 4-9 0-0 9, Pulliam 3-9 0-0 6, Schakel 4-9 6-6 17, Seiko 0-4 0-0 0, Mensah 4-7 0-0 8, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Butler 1-2 1-2 3, Arop 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-58 11-16 62.
Halftime—San Diego St. 24-20. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 5-26 (Doutrive 2-3, Akot 1-3, Shaver 1-5, Alston 1-9, Kigab 0-1, Rice 0-2, Dennis 0-3), San Diego St. 5-18 (Schakel 3-7, Mitchell 1-1, Gomez 1-5, Pulliam 0-1, Seiko 0-4). Fouled Out—Johnson. Rebounds—Boise St. 39 (Armus 12), San Diego St. 29 (Mitchell 8). Assists—Boise St. 8 (Kigab 3), San Diego St. 11 (Pulliam 4). Total Fouls—Boise St. 17, San Diego St. 22.
