Boise State men’s basketball team finishes up busy week with easy win over Montana Tech
Kasean Pryor had appeared in three games for the Boise State men’s basketball team this season, playing a combined 12 minutes.
But the backup got a rare chance to shine Sunday afternoon at ExtraMile Arena.
Pryor made the most of mop-up duty in the Broncos’ 88-57 win over NAIA squad Montana Tech, scoring a career-best 14 points in a season-high 11 minutes.
The sophomore guard from Chicago was one of five Broncos to score in double figures as Boise State connected on a season-high 14 triples and shot better than 50% from the floor for the fourth time in the last five games.
“We got a lot of guys on this team that come to practice every day that work really hard and they maybe don’t get rewarded or they don’t get the opportunity, because that’s just college athletics,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “It’s really hard to just keep showing up every day and keep grinding, and that’s why I’m so proud of Kasean, because I’ve been holding him to a high standard. I know he can be a really, really good player.”
Pryor finished 5-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, and threw down a dunk to help Boise State win its fifth consecutive game going into a key nonconference matchup against Washington State on Wednesday in Spokane.
Sunday’s win came on the heels of a busy week for the Broncos, who hosted Santa Clara on Tuesday during an equally grueling week of final exams.
Fifth-year senior Abu Kigab earned his bachelor’s degree in communication, and his dad, Sultan Kigab, was in the stands Sunday to see his son play college basketball for the first time. Abu, who is the Broncos’ leading scorer, finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.
“Sometimes when a guy graduates at semester, they don’t get all the pomp and circumstance that you get in the spring, and we wanted to make it special for him, because we’re really, really proud of him,” Rice said. “It’s a great example to all the young guys. He’s what our program’s all about, and I couldn’t be more proud of him, and it’s a neat thing that his dad got to be here for that.”
Emmanuel Akot got the Broncos going Sunday with a season-high seven assists to go with 16 points and five rebounds. The Broncos made six 3-pointers in the first half, with Akot assisting on five of those triples while making one of his own. Tyson Degenhart (15 points) and Marcus Shaver Jr. (13 points) also reached double figures, and Mladen Armus pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds.
“I thought we played really good team basketball, our togetherness is really showing, just our ability to bring each other up and our friendship is helping us really connect out there on the court right now,” Akot said. “We’re really gelling right now. We’re hoping to keep it going, but it’s an every day process to get better, and we’re going to do that.”
Both Pavle Kuzmanovic and Lukas Milner got on the court against the Orediggers after missing time with injuries. Eleven Broncos logged playing time, with eight scoring six points or more. Kuzmanovic and fellow reserve Naje Smith each knocked down a 3-pointer, and Smith pulled down a career-best seven boards as the Broncos outrebounded Montana Tech 45-27.
“I just see a lot of guys excited to be out there, excited for the opportunity,” Smith said. “We’re just going to keep getting better day by day and keep working hard.”
Boise State wraps up its nonconference schedule against Washington State. Tipoff is 6 p.m. Mountain time Wednesday at Spokane Arena. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Notes: Degenhart has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, the longest streak by a Boise State freshman since Anthony Drmic had eight straight double-digit scoring games in 2011. … Akot was 3-for-5 from 3-point range and is now shooting 39.7% beyond the arc this season. He leads the Broncos in made triples (23) and attempts (58), and he has made at least one 3-pointer in 18 consecutive games. … In the last five games, Boise State has held all five opponents to 60 points or fewer.
BOISE ST. 88, MONTANA TECH 57
MONTANA TECH (11-4): Bellach 6-16 0-0 14, Collins 2-6 5-7 10, England 3-5 0-0 6, Diallo 4-13 2-3 10, Huse 2-7 0-0 5, Bake 0-4 2-2 2, Ure 1-1 0-0 3, Larance 0-2 0-2 0, Larson 1-1 0-0 2, Baumstarck 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Baer 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 21-57 9-14 57.
BOISE ST. (8-4): Armus 3-7 1-2 7, Degenhart 6-7 1-1 15, Kigab 3-6 4-7 11, Akot 6-11 1-2 16, Shaver 5-12 0-0 13, N.Smith 2-6 1-2 6, Rice 0-2 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 2-3 1-1 6, Pryor 5-6 1-2 14, Milner 0-0 0-0 0, Winter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-60 10-17 88.
Halftime—Boise St. 41-23. 3-Point Goals—Montana Tech 6-17 (Bellach 2-5, Baer 1-1, Ure 1-1, Huse 1-2, Collins 1-4, Bake 0-1, Larance 0-1, Diallo 0-2), Boise St. 14-27 (Pryor 3-3, Akot 3-5, Shaver 3-7, Degenhart 2-3, Kuzmanovic 1-2, Kigab 1-3, N.Smith 1-3, Rice 0-1). Rebounds—Montana Tech 26 (Collins, England 5), Boise St. 44 (Armus 15). Assists—Montana Tech 9 (Diallo 4), Boise St. 18 (Akot 7). Total Fouls—Montana Tech 17, Boise St. 16. A—6,429 (12,480).
This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 7:53 PM.
