Coach Rice dodges ‘pizza’ bullet, but Boise State still feeds off crowd in season opener
Looking to his right at the student section inside ExtraMile Arena that extended into the second deck, Boise State men’s basketball coach Leon Rice had a realization.
“I think somebody did the math, and apparently I’m not gonna get paid this year,” said Rice, who promised to buy pizza for the rest of the year if the student section sold out.
Playing in front of an unrestricted crowd for the first time in 20 months, the Broncos breezed past Utah Valley, 76-56, in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night at ExtraMile Arena.
And Rice dodged a bullet. Although the 1,211 students were plenty loud — including a section of shirtless men who each represented a letter in “Go Boise State Broncos” — it wasn’t quite a student sellout. The announced attendance was 7,457 overall.
“It was a fun environment,” Boise State senior Devonaire Doutrive said. “I feel like the fans brought the energy. ... And I thank them for coming out and supporting us.”
Doutrive led five Broncos in double figures with 18 points, and added six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Reserve Naje Smith, who scored a total of 16 points all of last season, scored eight of his 15 points over the final 3:02 and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor. Smith’s dunk on a fast break about midway through the first half — courtesy of a behind-the-back pass from Pavle Kuzmanovic — was part of a 12-0 run that turned a 19-13 deficit into a 25-19 lead.
The Broncos never trailed after that.
“He gave us a big boost, man. His energy’s contagious,” senior Abu Kigab said of Smith. “Defensively, he’s all over the place. He’ll get on the O-boards and dunk some. He’s running in transition. So he’s a really good piece for us, and I’m very happy to have him.”
Smith also made a scooping layup through traffic in the closing minutes and encouraged fans to get on their feet in celebration. Then Kigab grabbed the arena microphone after the horn sounded and thanked fans for coming out.
“If you don’t have one of them at practice, then all of the sudden, it becomes a quiet gym,” Rice said. “What they bring to the team is that emotion, that energy. When they’re talking, we’re doing good things.”
Kigab had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots, and fellow seniors Mladen Armus and Emmanuel Akot had 11 points apiece.
The Wolverines (0-1) made their first five shots of the game and led by as many as six points, but they couldn’t hang on to that early lead. The Broncos (1-0) limited 6-foot-11 center Fardaws Aimaq — the NCAA’s leading rebounder last season — to 15 points and just five rebounds.
“They’re one of those teams that I don’t think you want to play from behind very long,” Rice said. “They can frustrate you. They’re going to make every possession last, and they’re going to execute.”
Boise State led 38-27 at halftime and extended the margin to as many as 22 points with 12:09 left after a 15-2 run. Armus scored seven of his 11 points during that run, highlighted by a one-handed dunk over Aimaq and a three-point play.
“We have a lot of guys that can (score),” Rice said. “... The key to this team in the long term is gonna be their unselfishness, if they’re willing to keep doing that. We can’t have greed ever set in.”
The Broncos play their first road game Saturday against UC Irvine. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Mountain time at Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with a radio broadcast available on 670 AM.
Note: Rice said freshman guards Kobe Young and R.J. Keene likely will redshirt this season. Fellow true freshman Tyson Degenhart made his Boise State debut Tuesday, playing 8 minutes and contributing two rebounds and one assist. Degenhart also drew a charge against Aimaq, sending him to the bench with two fouls with 11:49 left in the first half. “That was a courageous play,” Rice said. ... The Broncos played Tuesday’s game without arguably their best shooter, Marcus Shaver Jr., who is day-to-day with a hand injury, Rice said. ... Kuzmanovic set career highs for minutes (20), points (9), assists (2) and steals (1).
BOISE STATE 76, UTAH VALLEY 56
UTAH VALLEY (0-1): Fuller 2-2 0-0 4, Aimaq 6-12 3-4 15, Darthard 3-10 0-0 8, Harding 2-9 1-2 5, Nield 2-4 1-1 5, Harmon 6-9 2-4 14, Ceaser 1-1 0-0 3, Battle 1-2 0-0 2, McCord 0-1 0-0 0, Farrer 0-0 0-0 0, Leifson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 7-11 56.
BOISE STATE (1-0): Armus 5-7 1-1 11, Kigab 5-11 2-4 12, Akot 4-10 2-4 11, Doutrive 8-16 1-2 18, Rice 0-1 0-0 0, N.Smith 6-6 2-2 15, Kuzmanovic 4-8 0-0 9, Milner 0-1 0-0 0, Degenhart 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-62 8-13 76.
Halftime — Boise St. 38-27. 3-Point Goals — Utah Valley 3-11 (Darthard 2-5, Ceaser 1-1, Aimaq 0-1, Nield 0-1, Harding 0-3), Boise St. 4-20 (N.Smith 1-1, Akot 1-4, Kuzmanovic 1-4, Doutrive 1-7, Degenhart 0-1, Rice 0-1, Kigab 0-2). Rebounds — Utah Valley 26 (Aimaq, Harmon, Ceaser 5), Boise St. 31 (Kigab 7). Assists — Utah Valley 3 (Harding, Harmon, Battle 1), Boise St. 12 (Kigab 3). Total Fouls — Utah Valley 15, Boise St. 13. A — 7,457 (12,480).
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 11:42 PM.
