With great ‘energy,’ Boise State shakes off season-opening loss, beats Washington State
As Naje Smith shouted and flexed after an alley-oop dunk, Marcus Shaver Jr. was headed to the huddle with his hands over his eyes like binoculars.
Boise State was feeling the joy of basketball Saturday night.
The Broncos overcame a slow start for a 71-61 victory over Washington State in the Capital City Classic at Idaho Central Arena. Boise State (1-1) defeated the Cougars (1-1) for the second straight season to even the all-time series at 4-4. The 10-point win is the largest for the Broncos in series history.
“These were two good teams,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “Last year this win was a feather in our cap all year long when we beat them in Spokane, and now we have a neutral-court win against a team that has a chance to be a top-50 team.”
Shaver, who moved to point guard this season, had his teammates in his sights all night, assisting on three alley-oop dunks and finishing with a team-best five assists, while also leading the Broncos in scoring (15), rebounds (10) and steals (4).
“I know what everybody’s gonna do on the floor. I just try to find them in the right spots,” Shaver said. “And that’s what we did tonight.”
The Broncos looked much more relaxed than they did in their season-opening home loss to South Dakota State, settling in defensively to force 15 Washington State turnovers that led to 17 points. They also outscored the Cougars 42-26 in the paint.
“On Wednesday I saw a little tension in everybody,” Rice said. “But now they’re settling in and playing with joy. ... That’s how I want our team to be. These guys work hard for these moments, so they’ve got to enjoy these moments together. It’s not about pressure. It’s not about being perfect. It’s just playing hard, playing together and enjoying each other.”
For the second straight game, the Broncos spotted their opponent an 8-0 lead, but this time they didn’t play catch-up for long, using an 11-0 run to take the lead with 11:17 to play in the first half.
The Boise State defense then limited the Cougars to a stretch in which they made just three of 18 field-goal attempts, and the Broncos led 29-22 at halftime.
Boise State maintained its lead for much of the second half until the Cougars used a 9-2 run to knot the score at 48-48 with 8:48 on the clock. The Broncos responded with an 8-0 spurt, but had to withstand one last Washington State comeback, as a pair of free throws from TJ Bamba — who led all scorers with 24 points — brought the Cougars within 56-54 with 4:06 to play.
Despite starters Lukas Milner and Chiguzo Agbo each fouling out down the stretch, the Broncos outscored the Cougars 15-7 in the closing minutes to secure the win. Shaver scored four of the Broncos’ final eight points on a pair of driving layups. He was joined in double figures by Max Rice (15 points, 8 rebounds), Tyson Degenhart (14 points, 7 rebounds), Smith (12) and Milner (10).
“I thought the energy was great tonight,” Shaver said. “The fans came through and really showed us love.”
Boise State next travels to Conway, South Carolina, for the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Broncos open the tournament against Charlotte at 5 p.m. Mountain time Thursday at the HTC Center. The game will be televised on ESPNews, or listen on the radio on KBOI 93.1 FM.
BOISE ST. 71, WASHINGTON ST. 61
Gueye 4-11 4-5 12, Rodman 2-9 0-0 4, Bamba 9-16 2-4 24, Mullins 2-9 0-1 5, Powell 3-11 3-4 10, Rosario 1-4 2-2 4, Houinsou 1-2 0-0 2, Hamon-Crespin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 11-16 61.
Degenhart 5-10 3-5 14, Milner 5-10 0-2 10, Agbo 1-4 2-2 5, Ma.Rice 5-11 4-5 15, Shaver 6-13 3-5 15, N.Smith 4-8 4-6 12, Kuzmanovic 0-2 0-0 0, NgaNga 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 16-25 71.
Halftime—Boise St. 29-22.3-Point Goals—Washington St. 6-26 (Bamba 4-7, Mullins 1-5, Powell 1-5, Gueye 0-1, Hamon-Crespin 0-1, Rosario 0-2, Rodman 0-5), Boise St. 3-12 (Degenhart 1-2, Agbo 1-3, Ma.Rice 1-3, Kuzmanovic 0-1, Shaver 0-3).Fouled Out—Milner, Agbo.Rebounds—Washington St. 39 (Rodman 14), Boise St. 34 (Shaver 10).Assists—Washington St. 3 (Gueye, Rodman, Rosario 1), Boise St. 12 (Shaver 5).Total Fouls—Washington St. 20, Boise St. 15.A—4,157 (5,732).
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 7:25 PM.
