You’re ‘gonna miss.’ Boise State survives Nevada’s last-second shot, advances to semis
Abu Kigab had just been issued a flagrant foul with 1 minute, 41 seconds left in the game and his top-seeded Boise State men’s basketball team clinging to a four-point lead.
The call meant two free throws for Nevada, which then would get possession of the ball as well.
But what might have been disaster to some was a moment of gamesmanship for the fifth-year senior from Ontario, Canada.
“During the free throws, I told (Nevada’s Kenan Blackshear) that he was gonna miss ‘em,” Kigab said. “Thank God he did.”
Blackshear missed both free throws and a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds as Boise State outlasted the Wolf Pack 71-69 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. It was Boise State’s program-record tying 25th win of the season and puts the Broncos (25-7) in the semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons and the fourth time overall.
“In the end, these guys find ways to win, no matter what happens, no matter what the circumstances were,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “And the flagrant one, I told these guys in the huddle, ‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about the free throws. I don’t care if they give them two free throws and the ball. It’s about us getting a stop.’”
The top-seeded Broncos will face Wyoming, which survived a last-second shot of its own — a miss by UNLV to tie at the buzzer — to post a 59-56 win in its quarterfinal. The semifinal showdown will tip at at 7:30 p.m. Mountain time Friday at Thomas & Mack. It will be televised on CBS Sports Network, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
Wyoming, the No. 4 seed, and Boise State split their two regular-season meetings.
“It feels good (to win), but we’re not satisfied. We know that we still have to continue to improve and get better,” Kigab said. “It’s going to be a tough semifinal ... and we’ve got to be ready and be who we are — you know, defense, rebounding and make those simple plays, and everything will take care of itself.”
Emmanuel Akot scored eight of his team-high 22 points in a decisive 14-0 Boise State run in the first half, turning a six-point deficit into a six-point lead the Broncos never relinquished. The redshirt senior guard shot 8-for-15 from the floor and added four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Nevada (13-18) made nine of its first 11 shots — a clip of 81.8% — but the Wolf Pack couldn’t sustain it. They finished the game shooting 26-for-58 (44.8%), while Boise State went 26-for-52 (50%), including 6-for-14 from 3-point range (42.9%).
“A great battle, as we knew it would be. We have a ton of respect for Nevada,” said Rice, whose team went 3-0 vs. the Wolf Pack this season. “We know they’ve got great players, great coaches. ... When you win that first game, we knew they were going to come in with some momentum, and man, did they come in offensively clicking.”
Boise State took its first lead at 29-28, on a jumper from Marcus Shaver Jr., with 5:49 remaining in the first half. Though the Broncos never trailed again, Nevada was within striking distance the final 5 minutes and had a chance to win it.
“Coming into this tournament, we knew we just have to be ourselves. We don’t need to be anything other than what we’ve been. And I think today we showed that,” Akot said. “Seeing that last shot miss, that was kind of scary. But thankfully we were able to come out with a win.”
Shaver joined Akot in double figures with 15 points, making 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, while adding a team-best eight rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals. And Shaver did so while battling a non-COVID illness that kept him out of practice all week and away from the team until Thursday morning.
“That’s ‘Big-shot Shav’ for you,” Kigab said. “That’s what he does, man. He’s sick, whatever’s wrong, he’s gonna go out there and compete every single night. He’s one of the most competitive guys I know, and he leaves it out there on the floor every single night. We love him for that.”
Kigab chipped in 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and a steal, and freshman Tyson Degenhart added nine points, six rebounds and three assists to give the Broncos a chance to win their first Mountain West semifinal game in program history.
“When you are able to stay together in these moments, it gives you a lot more enjoyment than if you’re, you know, living out in the future of, ‘Hey, we’ve got this and that.’ No, we’re enjoying the space that we’re in,” Rice said. “I’m grateful I have a group that understands and can do that, because you have to work at that.”
Broncos plan watch party
Boise State will host an NCAA Tournament watch party Sunday at ExtraMile Arena.
The event, which is free to the public, will run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the selection show scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Mountain time.
“Bronco Nation showed up in a big way on senior night, providing an unbelievable atmosphere for our coaches and student-athletes, and helping secure a victory,” Boise State Athletic Jeramiah Dickey said in a press release.
“We invite you to be part of the excitement in this next chapter for Boise State men’s basketball as we prepare for our journey to the NCAA Tournament.”
Fans are asked to use Entry 2 to access the watch party. Parking is free in the East and West stadium lots, and limited concessions will be available for purchase at ExtraMile Arena.
BOISE STATE 71, NEVADA 69
NEVADA (13-18): Coleman 1-2 2-2 5, Washington 5-9 3-4 13, Blackshear 1-8 0-2 3, Cambridge 6-14 1-3 16, Sherfield 10-20 5-5 25, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Baker 3-4 0-0 7, Hymes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 11-16 69.
BOISE ST. (25-7): Armus 3-4 0-0 6, Degenhart 4-6 1-1 9, Kigab 5-11 0-0 11, Akot 8-15 2-4 22, Shaver 3-13 9-10 15, Rice 2-2 0-0 5, N.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Milner 1-1 1-2 3, Kuzmanovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 13-17 71.
Halftime—Boise St. 38-33. 3-Point Goals—Nevada 6-21 (Cambridge 3-9, Coleman 1-1, Baker 1-2, Blackshear 1-6, Sherfield 0-3), Boise St. 6-14 (Akot 4-8, Rice 1-1, Kigab 1-2, Shaver 0-3). Rebounds—Nevada 26 (Cambridge 6), Boise St. 34 (Shaver 8). Assists—Nevada 14 (Sherfield 6), Boise St. 17 (Kigab 6). Total Fouls—Nevada 18, Boise St. 16.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 3:20 PM.
