Shooting woes cost Boise State men at UC Irvine; women struggle vs. Long Beach State
Since the start of the 2019-20 men’s basketball season, Boise State has played 62 games.
During that span, two of the Broncos’ three worst shooting performances have come against UC Irvine, including a 58-50 loss to the Anteaters on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California.
The Broncos shot 32.2% from the floor and 13.6% from 3-point range, which ranks as their lowest overall shooting percentage since making just 31.3% in a loss to UNLV on Feb. 26, 2020. The last time the Broncos faced the Anteaters — a 69-60 loss on Nov. 15, 2019, at ExtraMile Arena — they connected at a rate of 30.9%.
“We missed some early, and then we let it snowball on us mentally,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said in a postgame Zoom interview. “We missed lay-ins and even some free throws at some crucial times, too. You’ve gotta make shots, because our defense did its job tonight. I thought we played a heck of a defensive game.”
For the second straight game, the Broncos struggled from beyond the arc. While it didn’t cost them in their opener against Utah Valley, the Broncos are now a combined 7-for-42 from deep (16.7%) through their first two games. Meanwhile, the Anteaters knocked down 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
“If you’re not up to speed on something, especially against good teams on the road, that something is going to get exploited,” Rice said. “And we’re not quite clicking enough offensively.”
The first half included 12 lead changes and six ties as both teams dug in defensively. The Broncos appeared to finally find their offensive rhythm about midway through the half as they scored eight unanswered points for a 19-14 lead with 7:48 remaining until halftime.
UC Irvine led 27-25 at the break, and the Broncos took their final lead of the game, 37-36, on a jumper from Marcus Shaver Jr. with 9 minutes left. Shaver missed Boise State’s season opener with a hand injury but scored a game-leading 14 points Saturday.
Emmanuel Akot was the only other Bronco to reach double figures, scoring 11 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Abu Kigab added nine points and six rebounds, and Mladen Armus pulled down a game-best 10 boards to go with five points. Naje Smith was the only bench player to contribute significantly statistically, totaling two points, three rebounds, two blocked shots, one assist and one steal in 17 minutes on the floor.
“Definitely battled some injuries, so it’s just gonna take a minute for me to get back into rhythm,” Shaver said. “But first-game jitters out, I just think it’s up hill from here for this team.”
Ten players scored for the Anteaters, led by Collin Welp with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Austin Johnson controlled the interior for UC Irvine with eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
“It was just one of those nights. Shots weren’t falling,” Shaver said. “We’ve just got to get back in the lab and get shots up.”
Boise State returns to action at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic next week in Charleston, South Carolina. The Broncos face No. 23 St. Bonaventure in the first round at noon Mountain time Thursday, Nov. 18, on ESPN2. They’ll play again Nov. 19 against either Clemson or Temple.
WOMEN: LONG BEACH ST. 61, BOISE ST. 38
Boise State committed 22 turnovers and scored just two field goals in the second quarter, leading to their first loss in a home opener since the 2013-14 season.
Junior guard Justina King scored a game-high 16 points to lead Long Beach State (2-0) to the victory Saturday at ExtraMile Arena, and redshirt junior Ma’Qhi Berry added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.
With nine newcomers on the roster, the Broncos (0-1) are still adjusting to playing together, and the Beach took advantage defensively.
“The one good thing is the intensity created an education in itself,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said. “... So we’ll learn from it, and we’re gonna take some bumps, but I do think over the course of time we are going to get better.”
Sophomore forwards Elodie Lalotte and Abby Muse got the Broncos going early inside. The pair combined for 10 of Boise State’s 12 points in the first quarter, helping the Broncos take a 10-6 lead. Senior forward Rachel Bowers made a fast-break layup with 1:34 left in the opening frame for a 12-10 Boise State advantage, but that was the last time the Broncos would be ahead the rest of the way.
The Beach answered with a pair of layups for a 14-12 lead after one quarter. The Broncos then shot just 18.2% (2-for-11) from the floor in the second quarter to fall behind 27-19 at the half.
“I think we’re just trying to hurry, and then we let the other team define how we’re going to play,” said Lalotte, who led the Broncos with 11 points. “So if we take our time and just pass the ball better, look better instead of hurrying and throwing the ball, we’ll be better.”
Muse contributed 10 points and three steals, and sophomore point guard Mary Kay Naro totaled seven points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Broncos scored 24 of their 38 points in the paint and finished just 2-for-17 (11.8%) from 3-point range.
“We struggled on the perimeter a little bit. We couldn’t get into our offense,” Presnell said. “... We’ve got to be able to execute a little bit better. And I don’t know how else to say it, but we just played timid, especially on the perimeter. We’ve just got to be able to handle the pressure.”
Saturday’s game marked the Boise State debut for transfers Dominique Leonidas (Brown), Sydney McQuietor (Boston College) and Kaitlin Burgess (College of Southern Idaho), plus true freshmen Trista Hull, Jayda Clark and Linsey Lovrovich.
The Broncos next host NAIA program Oregon Tech (4-0) at 6:30 p.m. Monday inside ExtraMile Arena. A live stream of the game is available at broncosports.com/mwn, or listen on the radio on 1350 AM.
Note: Boise State lost an exhibition game to start the 2017-18 season, but Saturday’s loss was the first in an official season opener since losing 90-86 to Southern Utah in 2013. ... Maddi Utti, the 2020 Mountain West Player of the Year, transferred from Fresno State to Long Beach State in the offseason. She got the start for the Beach and finished with seven points, seven rebounds and three steals.
MEN: UC IRVINE 58, BOISE ST. 50
BOISE ST. (1-1)
Armus 2-6 1-3 5, Kigab 4-12 0-0 9, Akot 3-10 4-5 11, Doutrive 4-10 0-2 9, Shaver 5-12 4-4 14, N.Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Rice 0-3 0-0 0, Milner 0-1 0-0 0, Degenhart 0-0 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-59 9-14 50.
UC IRVINE (1-1)
Butler 2-5 2-2 6, Johnson 2-7 1-2 5, Welp 3-11 5-8 11, Baker 3-7 3-4 10, Lee 1-2 1-3 4, Hohn 1-3 0-0 2, Davis 3-7 0-0 9, Ujadughele 0-0 0-0 0, Keeler 2-3 0-0 4, Redfield 2-2 0-0 5, Leuchten 1-2 0-0 2, Tshimanga 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 12-19 58.
Halftime—UC Irvine 27-25. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 3-22 (Doutrive 1-3, Akot 1-4, Kigab 1-6, Armus 0-1, Kuzmanovic 0-1, Rice 0-1, Shaver 0-3, N.Smith 0-3), UC Irvine 6-9 (Davis 3-4, Lee 1-1, Redfield 1-1, Baker 1-2, Welp 0-1). Rebounds—Boise St. 35 (Armus 10), UC Irvine 36 (Johnson 8). Assists—Boise St. 5 (Akot 3), UC Irvine 13 (Welp 6). Total Fouls—Boise St. 16, UC Irvine 17. A—2,197 (4,984).
WOMEN: LONG BEACH ST. 61, BOISE ST. 38
LONG BEACH ST. (2-0)
Justina King 6-18 2-2 16; Ma’Qhi Berry 4-9 6-6 14; Myrrah Joseph 4-5 0-0 8; Kianna Hamilton-Fish 1-3 4-4 7; Maddi Utti 3-12 1-1 7; Patricia Chung 2-4 0-0 4; Jasmine Hardy 1-6 1-2 3; Thea Mikkelsen 1-1 0-0 2; Lauren Green 0-1 0-0 0; Kristyna Jeskeova 0-0 0-0 0; Emily Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0; Savannah Tucker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 14-15 61.
BOISE ST. (0-1)
Elodie Lalotte 5-6 1-4 11; Abby Muse 3-7 4-5 10; Mary Kay Naro 2-8 2-2 7; Rachel Bowers 2-4 0-0 4; Trista Hull 1-1 1-3 3; Kaitlin Burgess 1-4 0-0 3; Jayda Clark 0-5 0-0 0; Sydney McQuietor 0-1 0-0 0; Dominique Leonidas 0-2 0-0 0; Anna Ostlie 0-4 0-0 0; Linsey Lovrovich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-42 8-14 38.
Long Beach St................. 14 13 20 14 — 61
Boise St...................... 12 7 14 5 — 38
3-point goals — Long Beach St. 3-13 (King 2-4; Hamilton-Fish 1-2; Chung 0-1; Hardy 0-5; Berry 0-1), Boise St. 2-17 (Burgess 1-4; Naro 1-5; Clark 0-4; Ostlie 0-4). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Long Beach St. 36 (Utti 7), Boise St. 29 (Naro 7). Assists — Long Beach St. 12 (Berry 3; Joseph 3), Boise St. 12 (Naro 5). Total fouls — Long Beach St. 14, Boise St. 16. Technical fouls — None. A — 718.
