Boise State’s ‘old soul’ nets career high in rout of San Jose State; women avenge loss
With five home games remaining, Leon Rice is starting to get sentimental.
It’s hard to blame him, given how well his Boise State men’s basketball team is playing.
Two days after suffering their first loss in more than two months, the Broncos took down San Jose State 76-60 on Saturday in a front of a season-high crowd of 10,456 at ExtraMile Arena.
True freshman Tyson Degenhart scored a career-best 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and fifth-year senior Abu Kigab tallied a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds while also drawing 11 fouls and grabbing a career-high five steals.
“I’m going to get sad losing (Abu). This is gonna be a hard departure for me,” Rice said. “I might petition to get a seventh year, or whatever he is now. I’ll tell you what, he is just a joy to coach, and to have a guy who’s a warrior. He’s the guy, if you had to go down to wicked alley, he’d be the guy first in line to go with you.
“Those are the guys you love to have out there competing. He can make some mistakes, but he always just makes up for them in his hustle and his enthusiasm.”
Kigab set the tone for the Broncos (18-5, 9-1 Mountain West) on Saturday, as Max Rice grabbed a steal and tossed the ball downcourt to Kigab, who threw down a two-handed dunk for the Broncos’ first points of the game. Max Rice started in place of redshirt senior Emmanuel Akot, who has a “tweaked” knee, according to Leon Rice.
“This team has been amazing. We don’t make excuses. We don’t let people make excuses for us,” Leon Rice said. “We didn’t have (Akot). We had a tough loss. We’re banged up. All these things, but we just come out and compete, and we surely did that today.”
Going into Saturday’s game, Kigab ranked No. 42 in the country for fouls drawn per game, according to KenPom.com, and he showcased his savvy on both ends of the floor by taking four charges in addition to his 18 points.
“Just being patient, knowing that the defender’s gonna be physical with me because I’m a little bit bigger than most of the guys I play,” said Kigab, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 220 pounds. “... Once I get to my spot, I can make any play, and I know they’re gonna foul me when I get there.”
Leon Rice compared the Broncos’ start against San Jose State to “running in mud,” but Degenhart got the Broncos onto solid ground. He put together a pair of 8-0 runs by himself in the first half, going 6-for-8 from the floor and making two of his three 3-pointers.
Degenhart’s 23 points are the most by a Boise State freshman in a conference game since Feb. 26, 1994, when Steve Shepherd scored 26 against Montana State. He is just the seventh freshman in program history with multiple 20-point games.
“He’s an old soul, kinda. He’s got a maturity about him, and that’s what makes him so good,” Leon Rice said. “Usually freshmen have to figure a lot of stuff out. Not just basketball. Life. He’s kinda got it nailed. That’s a credit to his parents and his family and upbringing. A lot of times you can tell a lot about a kid, all you’ve got to do is meet their parents, and when you meet his, you understand why he is who he is.”
Boise State matched its season high with nine steals, and the Broncos outrebounded the Spartans 31-22, including 10 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points.
The Broncos will now have nearly a week off between games. They host UNLV at 9 p.m. Friday at ExtraMile Arena. The Mountain West game will be televised on Fox Sports 1, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
Leon Rice said he will give his players Sunday and Monday off for some much deserved rest.
“We told our guys this feels like the All-Star break because we played like an NBA schedule where it’s just game after game after game,” Leon Rice said. “We need to be able to reset and then come out for the fourth lap of the mile.”
Women’s basketball: Broncos win rematch with SDSU
Elodie Lalotte was not the only reason the Boise State women’s basketball team defeated San Diego State 72-63 on Saturday afternoon, but her presence on the court at ExtraMile Arena certainly didn’t hurt.
After missing the past three games — all losses — with a concussion, Lalotte returned to the Broncos’ starting lineup and came one rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. The sophomore forward from Paris, France, was one of five Broncos to score in double figures as Boise State avenged an 80-63 loss to the Aztecs on Jan. 15 in San Diego.
“She is a great player, and it was so fun to have her back,” Boise State sophomore Abby Muse said. “We sorely missed her, and she played great. I just love playing with her.”
Muse’s play carried the Broncos (8-14, 4-7 MW) against the Aztecs (10-12, 4-7). She scored Boise State’s first two buckets on putbacks, and she had already matched her career high for assists after the first quarter. Muse came three assists shy of a triple-double, totaling team-highs for points (14), rebounds (10) and assists (7). It was her ninth double-double of the season.
“My teammates were just working hard to get open, so they made it easy for me to get the ball to them,” Muse said. “Credit goes to them. It was fun. I love giving assists.”
Boise State, which boasts seven players who stand 6 feet or taller, scored 40 of its 72 points in the paint, with forwards Lalotte, Muse and Rachel Bowers combining for 37 points and 21 boards. Boise State outrebounded San Diego State 40-31 and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds.
“The last three games, we haven’t had that post presence,” Boise State coach Gordy Presnell said. “Abby’s getting better and better ... but having Elodie back, she’s just a huge presence. She’s hard to guard. She’s more explosive than you think, and she can finish around the basket. It was great to have her back.”
The Broncos scored the first six points of the game and never trailed, shooting 49.1% from the floor, which is their second-best shooting performance of the season behind a 51.1% outing against Washington State on Dec. 12.
Joining Lalotte and Muse in double figures were sophomore point guard Mary Kay Naro (13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds), fifth-year senior guard Dominique Leonidas (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Bowers (11 points).
“It was great to be back,” said Lalotte, who suffered her concussion after an elbow to the head in practice. “Oh my gosh, it was so great just to be able to actually help them physically.”
Boise State continues Mountain West play against second-place UNLV at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at ExtraMile Arena. The game will be streamed live online on the Mountain West Network, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
MEN: BOISE ST. 76, SAN JOSE ST. 60
SAN JOSE ST. (7-15, 0-1 MW): Gorener 3-9 2-2 10, Robinson 2-4 2-2 7, Cardenas Torre 2-5 0-0 4, Moore 2-4 0-0 5, T.Smith 2-8 0-0 6, Amey 9-13 1-2 24, O’Garro 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 22-48 5-6 60.
BOISE ST. (18-5, 9-1 MW): Armus 2-3 2-3 6, Degenhart 9-14 2-2 23, Kigab 6-9 6-7 18, Rice 2-8 0-0 5, Shaver 4-11 4-4 14, Kuzmanovic 2-9 0-0 6, N.Smith 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 27-58 14-16 76.
Halftime—Boise St. 40-26. 3-Point Goals—San Jose St. 11-30 (Amey 5-8, T.Smith 2-7, Gorener 2-8, Robinson 1-1, Moore 1-2, Cardenas Torre 0-2, O’Garro 0-2), Boise St. 8-29 (Degenhart 3-5, Shaver 2-7, Kuzmanovic 2-9, Rice 1-6, N.Smith 0-2). Fouled Out—Moore, O’Garro. Rebounds—San Jose St. 20 (Amey 8), Boise St. 31 (Kigab 11). Assists—San Jose St. 15 (Cardenas Torre, Moore 4), Boise St. 11 (Rice 4). Total Fouls—San Jose St. 19, Boise St. 12. A—10,456 (12,480).
WOMEN: BOISE ST. 72, SAN DIEGO ST. 63
SAN DIEGO ST. (10-12, 4-7 MW): Sophia Ramos 7-20 6-6 20; Asia Avinger 6-16 1-2 15; Mercedes Staples 6-11 0-0 13; Khylee-Jade Pepe 3-9 1-3 7; Isabela Hernandez 2-6 0-0 6; Alex Crain 1-2 0-0 2; Kiara Edwards 0-1 0-0 0; Meghan Fiso 0-2 0-0 0; Kamaria Gipson 0-0 0-0 0; Bailee Chynoweth 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 25-67 8-13 63.
BOISE ST. (8-14, 4-7 MW): Abby Muse 5-10 4-5 14; Mary Kay Naro 4-7 4-4 13; Dominique Leonidas 5-12 2-4 12; Elodie Lalotte 6-9 0-0 12; Rachel Bowers 5-8 0-0 11; Anna Ostlie 1-6 2-2 5; Jayda Clark 1-3 0-0 3; Trista Hull 1-2 0-2 2; Mackenzie Naro 0-0 0-0 0; Linsey Lovrovich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 12-17 72.
San Diego St.................. 14 11 20 18 — 63
Boise St...................... 19 18 18 17 — 72
3-point goals — San Diego St. 5-23 (Hernandez 2-5; Avinger 2-3; Staples 1-6; Fiso 0-2; Crain 0-1; Ramos 0-6), Boise St. 4-12 (Ostlie 1-4; Bowers 1-1; Naro 1-2; Clark 1-2; Leonidas 0-3). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — San Diego St. 31 (Pepe 10), Boise St. 40 (Muse 10). Assists — San Diego St. 12 (Ramos 5), Boise St. 17 (Muse 7). Total fouls — San Diego St. 19, Boise St. 15. Technical fouls — None. A — 919.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 5:47 PM.
