After win at UNLV, Boise State is one victory away from cutting down the nets
Marcus Shaver Jr. wasn’t feeling well, but he wasn’t about to let his family down.
With 30-plus family members looking on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, Shaver poured in 27 points to lead the Boise State men’s basketball team to an 86-76 victory over UNLV and its program-record-tying 14th Mountain West win.
“Most of them hadn’t seen me play in person yet,” Shaver said. “I just wanted to give them a little taste of what I could do. But honestly, I wasn’t feeling that well before the game. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna play or not, but I just toughed it out.”
Seven of Boise State’s 14 league victories have come on the road, which also ties a school record. There have been 10 previous instances of a team winning at least seven conference road games in Mountain West history, and eight went on to win at least a share of the regular-season title.
And with two regular-season games remaining, the Broncos (23-6, 14-2 MW) can clinch at least a share of that Mountain West regular-season title with a victory at home over Nevada on Tuesday (7 p.m., FS2).
Boise State has a 1 1/2-game lead over Wyoming in the standings, and the Cowboys host San Diego State on Monday night. If the Aztecs were to win that game, then the Broncos would be playing for an outright title Tuesday night, not just a share.
“Being able to cut down the nets at home, that’s gonna be a good feeling,” Shaver said. “But we’ve just got to lock in and focus on the game.”
Boise State was locked in early at UNLV (17-12, 9-7), racing out to a 25-12 lead over the Rebels with 12:32 on the clock. The Broncos led 47-41 at halftime, in large part because of an 8-for-16 performance from 3-point range and an overall shooting percentage of 54.5%.
Shaver scored 15 of his 27 points in the first half, but it was fellow senior Abu Kigab who checked off a milestone just 3:05 into the game. Kigab made two 3-pointers and a layup in the opening minutes to reach 1,000 career points, and he finished the night with 23 points, six rebounds and two assists. Kigab, who started his career at Oregon, has 1,015 career points, including 933 with the Broncos.
“The crazy thing is, we got a 13-point lead, but those first-half leads anymore in college basketball are fool’s gold, especially against a team like this that can score,” Rice said. “You’re not gonna get up 13 and it’s game over.”
Boise State limited UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton to five points in the opening 20 minutes, but the Mountain West’s scoring leader tallied 16 points over the first 7:52 of the second half. A Hamilton 3-pointer with 12:08 to play gave UNLV a two-point advantage, 62-60. But it would be the Rebels’ final lead of the game.
“The No. 1 quality that this team has is toughness,” Rice said. “(Without it), you can’t deal with crowds, you can’t deal with the emotions. Because when you’re in first place, that brings some people out. It’s an event. We were playing the hottest team in the league, and they showed up to help that team try to beat us tonight, and these guys handle all that stuff. It is so impressive.”
Shaver took his turn reaching a career milestone in the second half. He now has 1,522 points, of which 654 have been scored at Boise State. Shaver shot 10-of-16 from the floor to go with five rebounds and two assists.
“I just have a lot of family in Vegas,” Shaver said. “Man, you know how my family is, they love supporting me, and I’m so grateful for that real support system that I got. And then of course my mom made the trip as well, so it’s just good having them here.”
NOTES: With the win over UNLV, Max Rice and Kigab became the 12th and 13th men’s basketball players in school history to win a conference road game at every league venue during their careers. They join Chandler Hutchison as the only players to do so with the Broncos in the Mountain West. Prior to Hutchison, the last Bronco to accomplish the feat was John Coker (1992-95). ... The Broncos have won 20 of their past 22 games. ... Tyson Degenhart was the third Bronco in double figures, scoring 10 points to go with three rebounds. Emmanuel Akot finished with nine points, six rebounds and three assists in his return to the starting lineup after missing four games and coming off the bench the last two.
BOISE STATE 86, UNLV 76
BOISE ST. (23-6, 14-2): Armus 2-5 1-3 5, Degenhart 4-10 0-0 10, Kigab 8-12 4-10 23, Akot 2-3 4-4 9, Shaver 10-16 4-8 27, Rice 2-6 0-0 6, N.Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Milner 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 31-58 13-25 86.
UNLV (17-12, 9-7): Hamm 3-7 5-5 12, Iwuakor 1-2 2-2 4, Hamilton 8-17 7-8 25, McCabe 0-3 0-0 0, Nuga 1-2 0-0 3, Williams 7-10 1-3 17, Muoka 4-6 1-3 9, Webster 2-5 0-0 6, Gilbert 0-1 0-0 0, Baker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 16-21 76.
Halftime—Boise St. 47-41. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 11-24 (Kigab 3-4, Shaver 3-7, Rice 2-4, Degenhart 2-6, Akot 1-2, N.Smith 0-1), UNLV 8-24 (Webster 2-4, Williams 2-4, Hamilton 2-8, Nuga 1-2, Hamm 1-3, Baker 0-1, Iwuakor 0-1, McCabe 0-1). Fouled Out—Iwuakor. Rebounds—Boise St. 35 (Kigab, Akot 6), UNLV 27 (Muoka 7). Assists—Boise St. 14 (Akot 3), UNLV 15 (McCabe 5). Total Fouls—Boise St. 19, UNLV 24. A—7,176 (18,776).
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 11:36 PM.
