‘It doesn’t matter how pretty it was.’ Boise State basketball fends off Cal State Northridge
Boise State coach Leon Rice is starting to call them his “Iron Five.”
Only he wishes he didn’t have to.
In a game he’d hoped to work on building depth, Rice had to largely rely on his starters to hold off Cal State Northridge 55-46 in a nonconference men’s basketball game Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena.
The Matadors entered the game with a 1-4 record and were near the bottom of the KenPom rankings at No. 320.
“In a month or two months, we’re not gonna remember if we won by nine or by 20,” Rice said. “You’re not gonna know, and you’re gonna be like, ‘Oh good, we got it done.’ And I was proud of our guys for that. I’ve got some guys that are kind of a little too much perfectionists. Basketball is not a game of perfect, and I’ve got to get them a little more comfortable with that.”
Cal State Northridge’s DeSean Allen-Eikens banked in a wild 3-pointer on the Matadors’ first possession, and it ended up being that kind of night for the Broncos.
Boise State shot just 36.5% from the floor — it’s second-poorest outing of the season — and fell behind 19-13 in a low scoring affair with 8:45 to halftime.
From there, the Broncos (5-2) responded with a 13-0 spurt that included back-to-back triples from redshirt senior Max Rice to retake a 26-19 lead and force Cal State Northridge (1-5) to call a timeout.
The Broncos then needed two free throws from Marcus Shaver Jr. to go into halftime with a 28-27 lead.
“A win is a win,” Boise State sophomore Tyson Degenhart said. “It doesn’t matter how pretty it was, it’s still a win in the win column.”
Although the Broncos scored nine of the first 12 points of the second half, they never could fully shake the scrappy Matadors. With their offense out of sync, the Broncos turned to defense for the win, holding the Matadors to just 19 second-half points and 15 field goals overall. The 15 field goals are the fewest by a Boise State opponent since San Jose State on Dec. 31, 2020.
“I thought our guys did a great job of adjusting in the second half,” Leon Rice said. “We became a little more determined in what we wanted to do and more physical.”
With the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead, Shaver went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final 2:02 to give the Broncos some breathing room. The fifth-year senior finished 5-for-13 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line for a game-leading 19 points. Shaver also added five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Degenhart was the only other Bronco to score in double figures, recording 11 points with four rebounds, while Max Rice added eight points and seven rebounds. True freshman Jace Whiting contributed six points and three rebounds in just over 14 minutes off the bench.
With Tuesday’s win, Boise State pushed its winning streak to four games. In that span, the Broncos have held their opponents to an average of 54.5 points per game.
“You have to be able to win those games when maybe you don’t shoot the ball well or the ball doesn’t bounce your way because that’s what happens,” Leon Rice said. “If you can accomplish the mission on those nights, then that’s great.”
The Broncos now travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for the The Battleground 2k22, where they will face Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Mountain time Saturday at Dickies Arena. The game will be televised on ESPNU, or listen on the radio on KBOI 670 AM.
BOISE ST. 55, CS NORTHRIDGE 46
Eyisi 1-2 0-0 2, Allen-Eikens 4-7 2-5 11, Bostick 3-14 3-4 9, Igbanugo 3-6 1-2 10, Wright 4-10 1-1 10, Tucker 0-5 4-4 4, Afifi 0-2 0-0 0, Okereke 0-1 0-0 0, Slaymaker 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 11-16 46.
Degenhart 5-12 1-4 11, N.Smith 2-9 1-2 6, Agbo 1-6 0-0 3, M.Rice 3-7 0-0 8, Shaver 5-13 8-9 19, Whiting 2-3 0-0 6, Milner 1-2 0-0 2, NgaNga 0-0 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 10-15 55.
Halftime—Boise St. 28-27.3-Point Goals—CS Northridge 5-15 (Igbanugo 3-5, Allen-Eikens 1-1, Wright 1-5, Afifi 0-1, Slaymaker 0-1, Bostick 0-2), Boise St. 7-22 (Whiting 2-3, M.Rice 2-5, N.Smith 1-2, Shaver 1-4, Agbo 1-5, Degenhart 0-3).Rebounds—CS Northridge 31 (Eyisi, Bostick 6), Boise St. 37 (N.Smith 9).Assists—CS Northridge 4 (Allen-Eikens, Bostick, Igbanugo, Wright 1), Boise St. 8 (Shaver 4).Total Fouls—CS Northridge 17, Boise St. 16.A—7,511 (12,480).
This story was originally published November 29, 2022 at 8:59 PM.
