Agbo’s career night leads Boise State to win over Loyola Chicago at Myrtle Beach invite
Welcome to the Boise State men’s basketball team, Chibuzo Agbo.
The 6-foot-7, 223-pound Texas Tech transfer scored a career-high 24 points as the Broncos bounced back with a 70-48 victory over Loyola Chicago in the consolation bracket of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Friday at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina.
Agbo, whose previous career high was eight points, finished 7-for-12 from the floor, including knocking down 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Agbo had scored a combined 11 points in the Broncos’ first three games and fouled out twice.
“He’s been waiting three years for this,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told KBOI 670 AM in a postgame radio interview. “He’s kind of a perfectionist, and he wants to do everything so perfect and just plays with some angst. So we had some good talks about how he needs to let his talent shine and it’s going to be amazing what happens when he does that.
“... I knew it was there. Our team knew it was there. The players knew it was there, and we weren’t gonna be a very good team if we didn’t get him playing.”
A day after shooting just 31.5% from the floor — including 16.7% in the first half for 11 points in a loss to Charlotte — the Broncos (2-2) connected on 46.2% of their shots against Loyola Chicago (2-2), making their first five attempts.
Sophomore Tyson Degenhart helped the Broncos get off to the hot start by scoring eight of the team’s first 14 points. Degenhart totaled 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go with five rebounds and two assists.
“It was a terrific bounce back,” Rice said. “And I told the guys afterwards that I knew that they were going to bounce back.”
Agbo made his first of five 3-pointers with 33 seconds left before halftime as the Broncos took a 31-26 lead into the break. The junior then sparked Boise State’s 39-point second half by scoring 17 of his game-leading 24 points.
Agbo hit three of his triples during a 19-2 Boise State run that turned a 44-37 lead into a 63-39 advantage with 4:03 remaining in the game.
“Coach and the rest of the coaching staff just encouraged me to stick with the process and just keep giving it to my teammates,” Agbo said. “Tonight it just happened for me.”
Agbo wasn’t the only new Bronco to enjoy a career night. True freshman Sadraque NgaNga, the highest-ranked recruit to ever join the Broncos, threw down his first collegiate dunk and made his first 3-pointer. NgaNga played 10 minutes and contributed five points and two rebounds.
“We’ve still got a lot of development to do with a lot of guys,” Rice said. “We’re gonna continue to develop them. Like I said earlier, the character of this team creates a really, really high ceiling.”
Boise State advances to the fifth-place game at the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Broncos will face Colorado (3-2) at 5 p.m. MT Sunday at the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. The game will be broadcast on ESPNews.
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 9:25 PM.
