Freshman ignites Boise State’s come-from-behind win over Ole Miss at Charleston Classic
With a team full of veterans, Tyson Degenhart doesn’t top the list of Boise State men’s basketball players most likely to change a game.
But that’s exactly what the true freshman did Sunday.
The 6-foot-7, 232-pound Spokane native scored seven straight points to rally the Broncos to a 60-50 victory over Ole Miss in the fifth-place game of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina.
Degenhart’s mini-run gave the Broncos their first lead, 48-46, and was part of a larger 21-4 Boise State run to close out the game.
“I think the players along with the staff ... have a lot of belief in him,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “He puts in a lot of time shooting the ball. He missed his first one, he was just a little on his heels, and everybody in the program wants him to shoot that next one and just shoot it confidently and on balance, and he made a big one there and I think that got him rolling. He makes winning plays, and not just making buckets, but he’s taken some big charges for us. He’s coming along.”
Degenhart missed his first 3-point attempt of the game late in the first half and didn’t get back on the court until there was 9:24 left to play. Less than a minute after entering the game, Degenhart scored on a layup, then nailed a corner triple and finally put Boise State in front with a pull-up jumper on the block. He scored seven of his career-high eight points in less than 2 minutes.
Degenhart’s heroics then rubbed off on redshirt senior Marcus Shaver Jr., who contributed seven of his team-leading 13 points over the final 6:21. Shaver was limited in fall practice with a hand injury and missed the Broncos’ opener as a result.
“I definitely feel a lot more comfortable being out there,” Shaver said. “My hand is doing good and I’m definitely getting my rhythm back.”
Boise State struggled for much of the first half, shooting just 32.1% from the floor and 16.7% from beyond the arc. The Broncos committed 17 turnovers in the game that led to 17 Ole Miss points. They went into halftime trailing 27-21, but shot 56% in the second half to rally.
“Our offense just got better and better as the game wore on,” Rice said. “Certainly we got a little more comfortable against their physical play and their pressure. They had us sped up a little bit. But it’s that time of year when you play a team like that, it usually is gonna get you sped up a little bit.
“But the thing I was most proud of is we calmed down and we found a way to play at our pace.”
The Broncos (3-2) also clamped down defensively down the stretch as the Rebels (3-2) failed to make a field goal over the final 5:10.
“I have a lot of hope and a lot of respect for our defense,” Rice said. “I think we’re pretty good defensively. You can think that, but until you’re in battles and until it’s tested against good teams, which certainly we were tested down here against good teams, and our defense held up and our rebounding held up.”
Fifth-year senior Abu Kigab added 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists for the Broncos, and redshirt senior Mladen Armus notched his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Armus also made 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 5 minutes.
The Broncos will be back in action Friday at home against Cal State Bakersfield. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena, and the game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network, which is available online at broncosports.com/mwn.
BOISE ST. 60, OLE MISS 50
BOISE ST. (3-2): Armus 3-9 5-10 11, Kigab 5-9 1-4 12, Akot 2-4 2-3 7, Doutrive 4-10 0-0 8, Shaver 6-13 0-0 13, N.Smith 0-2 1-2 1, Degenhart 3-5 1-2 8, Kuzmanovic 0-1 0-0 0, Milner 0-0 0-0 0, Rice 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 10-21 60.
OLE MISS (3-2): Brakefield 3-7 2-2 8, Brooks 3-9 0-0 6, Joiner 4-10 0-0 10, Murrell 3-8 0-0 6, Rodriguez 1-5 0-0 2, Fagan 3-8 0-0 6, Allen 2-3 4-4 8, Crowley 2-6 0-0 4, Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Van Der Heijden 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 6-6 50.
Halftime—Ole Miss 27-21. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 4-14 (Kigab 1-1, Akot 1-2, Degenhart 1-3, Shaver 1-4, N.Smith 0-1, Doutrive 0-3), Ole Miss 2-10 (Joiner 2-4, Brakefield 0-1, Fagan 0-1, Murrell 0-2, Rodriguez 0-2). Fouled Out—Brooks. Rebounds—Boise St. 38 (Armus 13), Ole Miss 28 (Brooks 6). Assists—Boise St. 12 (Armus, Kigab, Akot, Doutrive, Shaver 2), Ole Miss 9 (Fagan 4). Total Fouls—Boise St. 10, Ole Miss 19. A—2,407 (5,100).
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 3:39 PM.
