Boise State falters in final minutes of Charleston Classic opener vs. St. Bonaventure
A Quadrant 1 victory slipped through Boise State’s grasp in the final minutes Thursday afternoon.
The Broncos and No. 22 St. Bonaventure were tied at 59 with 5:24 to play, but the Bonnies, who made five of their final six shots, surged to a 67-61 victory in the first game of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina.
Boise State redshirt senior Emmanuel Akot finished with a career-best 24 points, including a 6-for-9 performance from 3-point range. But the Broncos (1-2) went 1-for-9 down the stretch, missing their final six shots, to let a chance at the upset victory slip away.
“I love this team and I love the way we compete,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “I know we played a really good team, and we were gonna have to play a great game. There were a couple minutes here and there that might have made a difference, and a couple possessions, really.”
Boise State will face Temple at 10 a.m. Mountain time Friday on ESPNU, while the Bonnies take on Clemson at approximately 12:30 p.m. The Owls lost 75-48 to the Tigers.
Rice pointed to a technical foul call on Boise State fifth-year senior Abu Kigab as a critical turning point. Kigab was whistled for the technical after teammate Marcus Shaver Jr. drew a charge on St. Bonaventure’s Kyle Lofton early in the second half. Kigab had his back to the television camera but appeared to be speaking in the direction of Shaver and Lofton. It is unclear whether what he said triggered the foul.
It was Kigab’s third foul of the game, and then the Broncos’ vocal leader picked up his fourth foul barely a minute later. He went to the bench and did not return until there was 8:21 left in the game.
Even without Kigab’s defensive presence, the Broncos remained neck and neck with the Bonnies. The teams exchanged the lead 12 times and were tied five times.
The Broncos took their final lead of the game, 59-57, on a Shaver 3-pointer with 5:40 remaining. After a Mladen Armus dunk — his only made field goal of the game on seven attempts — pulled the Broncos within 63-61 with 3:07 on the clock, Boise State missed its final five shots — all of them 3-point attempts.
“We had some really good looks, even down the stretch. We had some where a guy was open in the corner and it just popped in and out,” Rice said. “... But it’s a zero-sum game, and you’ve got make shots and be able to finish that way.”
Boise State missed its first six shots and was 1-for-14 from the field to start the game. The Broncos fell behind by as many as 12 points, 18-6, with 10:39 to go in the first half, before closing on a 27-12 run for a 33-30 advantage at the break.
“I think our team has a lot of confidence,” Akot said. “I believe that we’re one of the best teams out there, too. So we’ve just gotta keep continuing to get better and learn from these moments. It’s a long season, so we can’t dwell on it and get disappointed.”
Shaver was the only other Bronco to score in double figures, totaling 10 points on a 3-for-11 effort from the floor. Armus added seven points and 10 rebounds, while Kigab and Devonaire Doutrive had seven points each. True freshman Tyson Degenhart contributed four points, one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot in a career-high 15 minutes.
Senior guard Kyle Lofton totaled 17 points and seven assists as four Bonnies (3-0) reached double figures. Fellow senior guard Jaren Holmes notched a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
BSU WOMEN: The Broncos (1-1) hit the road for the first time this season to face BYU (3-0). Tipoff is 2 p.m. Saturday at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The game is available on BYUtv or on 1350 AM.
NO. 22 ST. BONAVENTURE 67, BOISE STATE 61
ST. BONAVENTURE (3-0): Osunniyi 3-7 1-2 7, Adaway 5-6 0-0 10, Holmes 3-9 7-8 14, Lofton 6-14 5-6 17, Welch 4-12 2-2 12, Brown 2-4 0-0 5, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Coulibaly 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-53 15-18 67.
BOISE STATE (1-2): Armus 1-7 5-6 7, Kigab 2-10 3-4 7, Akot 8-16 2-2 24, Doutrive 2-6 2-2 7, Shaver 3-11 2-2 10, Degenhart 2-3 0-0 4, Rice 0-3 0-0 0, N.Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Milner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 14-16 61.
Halftime—Boise St. 33-30. 3-Point Goals—St. Bonaventure 4-17 (Welch 2-9, Brown 1-2, Holmes 1-3, Lofton 0-3), Boise St. 9-26 (Akot 6-9, Shaver 2-6, Doutrive 1-2, Degenhart 0-1, N.Smith 0-1, Rice 0-2, Kigab 0-5). Rebounds—St. Bonaventure 33 (Holmes 10), Boise St. 28 (Armus 10). Assists—St. Bonaventure 15 (Lofton 7), Boise St. 12 (Kigab, Akot 3). Total Fouls—St. Bonaventure 14, Boise St. 17.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 2:34 PM.
