‘Didn’t get the job done’: Santa Clara gets hot, halts Boise State’s 9-game win streak
Most teams have struggled to shoot the 3-pointer against the Boise State men’s basketball team this season.
Santa Clara made it look easy.
The California-based Broncos knocked down 10-of-25 from deep Thursday to upend Boise State 73-58 and end the team’s nine-game winning streak at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California.
Boise State (10-3) entered Thursday’s nonconference game as one of the best 3-point defenses in the country, ranking fifth overall by allowing just 26% shooting. But Santa Clara (12-3) connected at a rate of 40% to score a season-high 73 points on BSU.
During its nine-game winning streak, Boise State held seven of nine opponents to 60 points or less and ranked ninth nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.662%).
But the defense the Broncos have come to rely on wasn’t at its best against Santa Clara, which outrebounded Boise State, 41-35. It was just the second time this season Leon Rice’s team had been outrebounded.
“We knew this was a good team, and we were gonna have to play an A-plus game to beat them,” the Boise State coach told KBOI 670-AM in a postgame radio interview. “I thought we played a pretty B-plus first half and then we sank down a little bit in the second half, and (Santa Clara) played a great second half.”
Boise State led by as many as eight points in the first half — 31-23 with 4:55 to go — but Santa Clara went on an 11-4 run to pull within 36-34 at halftime, thanks to a wild 3-pointer at the buzzer by sophomore guard Carlos Stewart.
Stewart proved difficult for the Broncos to stop, making 8-of-13 shots (62%), including 3-of-6 triples, for a game-high 25 points.
Stewart’s 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer started a 10-0 run that put Santa Clara in the lead for good. Santa Clara held Boise State to just two field goals to start the second half, sparking a 20-4 run overall that resulted in a 54-40 lead.
“They’re a big, physical team, and we knew coming into the game we’d have to match their physicality and rebounding,” Boise State sophomore Tyson Degenhart said. “We just didn’t do it tonight. We didn’t get the job done.”
Boise State played Santa Clara without the help of leading scorer Marcus Shaver Jr., who sat out for the fourth time in the past five games with an undisclosed injury. True freshman Jace Whiting started in Shaver’s place again, tallying seven points, two rebounds and two assists.
“I was really concerned when we had no Shaver against them,” Rice said. “There’s not a lot of teams in (Santa Clara’s) league, including Gonzaga, that would want to play them without their best player.”
Junior Chibuzo Agbo paced Boise State with 12 points, while Degenhart came a rebound short of a double-double with 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Max Rice added 10 points and five rebounds to give the Broncos three players in double figures.
Boise State begins Mountain West play Wednesday at Nevada. Tipoff is 8 p.m. Mountain time at Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada. The game will be broadcast on Nevada Sports Net, or listen on the radio on KBOI 670 AM.
SANTA CLARA 73, BOISE ST. 58
Degenhart 3-11 4-4 11, N.Smith 3-7 1-2 8, Agbo 3-10 5-7 12, M.Rice 5-16 0-0 10, Whiting 3-7 0-0 7, Young 3-3 0-0 7, Kuzmanovic 1-3 0-0 3, Milner 0-1 0-0 0, Sylla 0-2 0-0 0, NgaNga 0-1 0-0 0, B.Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 10-13 58.
Braun 1-5 0-0 3, Justice 2-9 0-0 6, Bediako 2-6 0-0 4, Podziemski 7-15 2-2 18, Stewart 8-13 6-7 25, Tongue 1-3 1-2 4, Holt 0-1 2-2 2, Knapper 2-3 0-0 5, Tilly 1-2 0-0 2, Akametu 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 26-59 11-13 73.
Halftime—Boise St. 36-34. 3-Point Goals—Boise St. 6-17 (Young 1-1, Degenhart 1-2, Kuzmanovic 1-2, N.Smith 1-2, Agbo 1-3, Whiting 1-4, M.Rice 0-3), Santa Clara 10-25 (Stewart 3-6, Justice 2-6, Podziemski 2-7, Knapper 1-1, Tongue 1-2, Braun 1-3). Rebounds—Boise St. 34 (Degenhart 9), Santa Clara 38 (Podziemski 10). Assists—Boise St. 7 (Degenhart, Whiting 2), Santa Clara 13 (Justice 5). Total Fouls—Boise St. 14, Santa Clara 13. A—1,061 (4,500).
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 4:58 PM.
