‘Big shot’ Shaver seals the deal for Boise State in win over San Jose State
Marcus Shaver Jr. went to the locker room with an ankle injury in the waning minutes of Boise State’s men’s basketball game against San Jose State.
Leon Rice watched the clock impatiently waiting for Shaver’s return, as the Spartans whittled away at the Broncos’ lead.
When Shaver did return, Rice needed to hear just one thing from the fifth-year senior from Phoenix, Arizona.
“I asked him in the huddle, do you want the last shot? Are you gonna make it?” Rice said.
Shaver’s answer came in the form of a step-back 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left that lifted the Broncos to a 67-64 victory over San Jose State in a Mountain West contest Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena.
“We needed to slow things down. We were leaking oil, and it was getting dicey,” Rice said. “We couldn’t stop them and then we were struggling a little bit. We had some turnovers. But credit (Shaver). What toughness he has to come back out and make that big, big shot.”
It’s hardly the first time “Big shot Shave” has come through for the Broncos. On the way to winning Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles last season, Shaver hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining at Utah State; connected on a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play in a victory at San Diego State; and sank the game-tying triple that forced overtime in an eventual win at Fresno State.
“It was the perfect storm,” Boise State redshirt senior Naje Smith said. “I was looking at all the conditions. We had the ball with 22 seconds. We got Shaver in the game and we got a tie ballgame where you could just be free and kind of hoop. That’s the best and most fun time to play. If you miss you’re going to overtime, but if you make it you’re the hero, and we know who the hero of this story is.
“It’s crazy. You can just see it in his eyes. Something locks in during the game. You can tell he just wants it more than the other guys.”
With the score tied at 64-64, Boise State called a timeout with 22 seconds left to set up Shaver’s game-winner. The Spartans followed with a timeout of their own after the Broncos returned to the floor, but there was no stopping Boise State’s 6-foot-2, 185-pound point guard.
Shaver got the ball on the inbounds play and dribbled down the clock near half court. He made his move with about 6 seconds to play, dribbling to his right before launching a step-back 3-pointer that found nothing but net.
What goes through his mind in situations like that?
“Really nothing,” Shaver said. “I’m really calm. I’ve been in that situation a lot. It’s just like I’m at the park getting up shots.”
Boise State (11-4, 1-1 MW) led by as many as 14 points and forced 13 San Jose State (11-5, 2-1) turnovers, including a huge one on the Spartans’ second-to-last possession, that led to 16 points. The Broncos won despite losing the rebound battle for just the third time this season and giving up 46 points in the paint.
“It’s a game of mistakes,” Rice said. “And when your teammates can lift you up and help you through those and give you your confidence back ... that’s what makes you a great team and great players.
“And that’s what we have is guys that do that. And that’s a little bit of the secret sauce to this team, is the team. We’re probably a little better than the sum of our parts when we do all those things and play together, and play the right way.”
The Broncos continue Mountain West play at home against Utah State this weekend. Tipoff is 4:30 p.m. Saturday at ExtraMile Arena, and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, or listen on the radio on KBOI 670 AM.
BOISE ST. 67, SAN JOSE ST. 64
San Jose: T.Anderson 0-4 2-2 2, Tolbert 2-8 0-0 5, Diallo 6-7 0-0 12, Cardenas 5-12 1-1 12, Moore 9-16 3-3 22, Gorener 2-7 0-1 5, Vaihola 3-3 0-0 6, Elder 0-1 0-0 0, G.Anderson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 6-7 64.
Boise State: Degenhart 5-15 3-4 13, N.Smith 4-8 2-2 11, Agbo 6-10 1-1 15, M.Rice 6-14 0-0 14, Shaver 4-12 0-0 9, Whiting 2-4 0-0 5, Milner 0-0 0-0 0, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Sylla 0-0 0-0 0, Kuzmanovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 6-7 67.
Halftime—Boise St. 41-29. 3-Point Goals—San Jose St. 4-21 (Tolbert 1-3, Cardenas 1-4, Moore 1-4, Gorener 1-6, G.Anderson 0-1, T.Anderson 0-3), Boise St. 7-23 (Agbo 2-4, M.Rice 2-7, N.Smith 1-1, Whiting 1-2, Shaver 1-4, Degenhart 0-5). Rebounds—San Jose St. 33 (Moore 7), Boise St. 28 (N.Smith 7). Assists—San Jose St. 9 (Moore 6), Boise St. 10 (M.Rice 3). Total Fouls—San Jose St. 12, Boise St. 11. A—8,113 (12,480).
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 8:56 PM.
