Five Broncos score in double figures as Boise State men’s basketball handles Utah Valley
Naje Smith walked into Saturday’s postgame news conference sporting a pair of sunglasses.
Boise State teammates say that’s just Naje being Naje.
Smith played his role to perfection Saturday, matching a career-high with 17 points as five Broncos scored in double figures to defeat Utah Valley 87-69 in a nonconference men’s basketball game at ExtraMile Arena.
“I definitely wanted to come out with a little bit of swagger,” Smith said. “I definitely feel like at the Colorado game I kind of found my game a little bit but didn’t get to play the full game (because of foul trouble), so I wanted to try to continue to bring that into the next one.
“I live off the thing where if you look good, you feel good and you play good.”
Three games into his new role as a starter, Smith is finding his groove. He scored seven of Boise State’s first nine points to start the second half, including a dunk on a putback that drew a foul and sent the ExtraMile Arena crowd into a roar.
“Naje, he just needed his time. This year, it’s really him,” Boise State junior Chibuzo Agbo said. “You see his footwork out there, he’s just playing, having fun and getting buckets.”
Smith finished 7-for-10 from the field and added three blocks and two rebounds in 31 minutes of action. His enthusiasm on the court has made him a fan favorite.
“It’s more of just a joy, and that’s what I love about him,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “He takes things serious when it needs to be serious and he grinds and he works hard and he does all the right things. But I want our guys to enjoy being together and enjoy traveling together and have fun. They play basketball because it’s fun.”
While it was Smith who sparked the Broncos (4-2) to start the second half, Agbo had a monster first half in which he scored 18 of his game-leading 20 points. Although he missed the first shot he took, Agbo made five in a row after that to help the Broncos build a 23-10 lead with 13:10 on the clock in the first half.
The Broncos shot 54.8% from the floor in the first half, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range. Agbo accounted for four of those triples in the opening 20 minutes.
“It felt really good, especially in ExtraMile (where) I felt like I really haven’t played well up until today offensively,” Agbo said. “It felt really good to have that happen today.”
All five of the Broncos’ starters scored in double figures Saturday against Utah Valley. Sophomore Tyson Degenhart — playing against 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo — notched 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal while drawing eight fouls.
Marcus Shaver Jr. was a rebound short of his third double-double of the season with 15 points and nine rebounds while adding six assists, two steals and two blocks, and Max Rice rounded out the Broncos in double digits with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
“I definitely feel like we’re a dangerous team that people kind of overlooked,” Smith said. “I feel like we can get it going, and we have so many weapons. We kind of knew that coming in here, our biggest challenge would just be coming together, and I didn’t realize we’d be coming together this fast, but something special’s coming.”
The Broncos will be back in ExtraMile Arena for a nonconference matchup against Cal State Northridge. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network, which is available at broncosports.com/mwn. A radio broadcast is available on KBOI 670 AM.
BOISE ST. 87, UTAH VALLEY 69
Ceaser 1-2 0-0 2, Bandaogo 1-4 2-5 4, Darthard 2-6 2-2 7, Harmon 7-14 2-2 19, Woodbury 4-9 3-3 13, Fuller 2-2 1-1 5, Small 1-7 2-2 4, Alford 4-7 3-5 11, McClanahan 0-2 0-0 0, Potter 1-2 0-0 2, Nield 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 15-20 69.
Degenhart 7-15 2-4 19, N.Smith 7-10 2-3 17, Agbo 7-11 2-2 20, M.Rice 5-7 1-1 12, Shaver 5-16 5-6 15, Milner 1-1 0-0 2, NgaNga 1-3 0-0 2, Whiting 0-1 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 0-0 0-0 0, Sylla 0-1 0-0 0, Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-65 12-16 87.
Halftime—Boise St. 44-33. 3-Point Goals—Utah Valley St. 6-17 (Harmon 3-4, Woodbury 2-4, Darthard 1-4, Alford 0-1, Ceaser 0-1, McClanahan 0-1, Small 0-2), Boise St. 9-27 (Agbo 4-6, Degenhart 3-9, N.Smith 1-2, M.Rice 1-3, NgaNga 0-1, Whiting 0-1, Shaver 0-5). Rebounds—Utah Valley St. 26 (Harmon, Woodbury, Small 4), Boise St. 35 (Shaver 9). Assists—Utah Valley St. 7 (Woodbury 4), Boise St. 10 (Shaver 6). Total Fouls—Utah Valley St. 20, Boise St. 19. A—8,544 (12,480).
This story was originally published November 26, 2022 at 3:55 PM.
