‘Isn’t it ironic?’ Boise State earns crucial win over San Diego State at free-throw line
A deep breath, one dribble and the effortless flick of Abu Kigab’s right wrist dismissed San Diego State’s upset bid.
Kigab made two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to send the Boise State men’s basketball team to a 58-57 victory over the Aztecs on Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena.
The win gave Boise State its first sweep of San Diego State since the 2014-15 season and, more importantly, a one-game lead over Wyoming in the race for the Mountain West’s regular-season championship with three games remaining.
While many fans watched Kigab’s free throws with hands clenched tightly to their face, Boise State coach Leon Rice waited quietly in anticipation.
“(Abu) said when I was smiling at him, he knew he was gonna make them,” Rice said. “He’s the greatest. He’s deserving of it. He’s worthy of it when you put in the time and the work like he has. The great thing about it is all y’all media people have been saying, ‘Oh, the free throws are gonna cost them.’ No they don’t. We win with the free throws. Isn’t it ironic?”
Boise State ranks 349th out of 358 Division I teams with a free-throw percentage of 64.5%, but the Broncos (22-6, 13-2 MW) have gone 132-for-175 (75%) from the line over their past 10 games. Kigab, who drew seven fouls, made 9-of-11 Tuesday night.
“When you’re in those moments, you’re just locked in,” Kigab said. “I think for me it’s just focusing on my breath, and I knew I was going to make those shots.”
To add to the irony, Kigab’s heroics were made possible by San Diego State’s stumble at the line. Matt Bradley, an 80% free-throw shooter, missed two with 7 seconds left that could have given the Aztecs a three-point lead.
After going 0-for-6 from the floor, Emmanuel Akot sank a 3-pointer with 35.5 seconds left to give the Broncos a one-point lead, 56-55. Rice said he had reminded Akot shortly before the shot that teammate Marcus Shaver Jr. had gone 0-for-10 from the field before knocking down the game-winning triple at Utah State last month.
“Remember what Shav did, and (Akot’s) eyes kind of lit up,” Rice said. “... Great players and great teams aren’t absent of mistakes and they’re not absent of bad nights, but they have to have the perfect response. That’s what great players and great teams do. And that’s what he did.
“When it got kicked to him, we kind of all knew he was making it.”
The Aztecs (17-7, 9-4) called a timeout after Akot’s basket and responded with an alley-oop dunk from Bradley to Nathan Mensah to retake the lead, 57-56, with 24.2 seconds left.
The Broncos then put the ball in Shaver’s hands hoping the redshirt senior could deliver as he has in crunch time so often this season. But Shaver’s 3-pointer didn’t even draw iron, and the Broncos immediately fouled Bradley with the Aztecs in the double bonus.
“I didn’t expect him to miss both free throws,” Kigab said of Bradley. “That was a blessing for us.”
Kigab raced down the court after the second miss and drew a foul while driving to the basket to set up the game-winning free throws. Kigab finished with a game-leading 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting, Naje Smith added 13 points and four steals off the bench, and Shaver totaled 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Broncos continue Mountain West play at UNLV on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Mountain time at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
Notes: The Aztecs went 6-for-7 from 3-point range in the second half to overcome as much as a 12-point deficit. ... Shortly before halftime, Smith had his shot blocked and got his own rebound. He threw up a desperation 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, and it banked in off the glass while he drew a foul. Smith made the free throw for Boise State’s first four-point play of the season. ... The Broncos have held 15 opponents to fewer than 60 points this season, the most in a single season during the Rice era.
Women’s basketball: Broncos host Wolf Pack
The Boise State women’s basketball team is nearing the end of its regular-season schedule, hosting Nevada at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Broncos’ second-to-last home game of the season at ExtraMile Arena.
If the season ended today, Boise State (8-18, 4-11 MW) would be the No. 9 seed in the Mountain West Tournament and play No. 8 Fresno State in the first round on Sunday, March 6.
Thursday’s game will be the only meeting of the season between the Broncos and the third-place Wolf Pack (17-9, 9-5). The two teams were scheduled to play in Reno on Jan. 6, but the game was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Nevada program.
A live stream of the game will be available on the Mountain West Network, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
BOISE STATE 58, SAN DIEGO STATE 57
SAN DIEGO ST. (17-7, 9-4 MW): K.Johnson 2-3 0-0 5, Mensah 6-10 1-2 13, Bradley 4-13 2-5 12, Butler 2-4 0-0 5, Pulliam 1-4 2-2 4, Seiko 1-2 0-0 2, Baker-Mazara 2-5 2-2 7, Arop 1-4 0-0 2, Tomaic 3-3 0-0 7, Diabate 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 7-11 57.
BOISE ST. (22-6, 13-2): Armus 1-3 0-2 2, Degenhart 2-8 1-1 6, Kigab 5-8 9-11 21, Rice 0-4 0-0 0, Shaver 4-14 3-4 12, Akot 1-7 1-3 4, N.Smith 4-6 3-5 13. Totals 17-50 17-26 58.
Halftime—Boise St. 30-20. 3-Point Goals—San Diego St. 6-11 (Bradley 2-4, K.Johnson 1-1, Tomaic 1-1, Baker-Mazara 1-2, Butler 1-2, Seiko 0-1), Boise St. 7-16 (N.Smith 2-2, Kigab 2-3, Akot 1-1, Degenhart 1-3, Shaver 1-4, Rice 0-3). Fouled Out—Mensah. Rebounds—San Diego St. 30 (Mensah 11), Boise St. 30 (Armus, Degenhart, Shaver 7). Assists—San Diego St. 6 (Bradley 5), Boise St. 5 (Shaver 2). Total Fouls—San Diego St. 24, Boise St. 14. A—9,193 (12,480).
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 9:28 PM.
