Max Rice’s career night launches Boise State past Nevada, into 1st place in Mountain West
Max Rice drained a 3-pointer 5 feet behind the 3-point line. He drove into the lane and effortlessly launched an on-target floater. Once, he had his shot blocked, only to back up and release a nothing-but-net triple.
It was just that kind of night.
Rice netted a career-high 29 points as Boise State dispatched Nevada 77-62 to move into sole possession of first place in the Mountain West on Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena.
“I’d say this was the first time I’ve ever been hot (in college),” Rice said. “My teammates did a really good job finding me after I hit a couple, and I started stringing them together. Once you hit a couple, I think the basket looks a lot bigger for you, so credit to my teammates for finding me and huge win for us.”
Boise State (15-4, 5-1 MW) now owns a one-game lead over idle San Diego State (13-4, 4-1) for first place in the Mountain West, and the Broncos couldn’t have done it without Rice.
The former standout at nearby Bishop Kelly High had a night to remember against the Wolf Pack.
After scoring just two points in the Broncos’ 74-72 loss to Nevada (15-5, 5-2) on Dec. 28, Rice went 10-for-14 from the floor, including making six of Boise State’s eight 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Broncos — and in particular Rice — were nearly unstoppable from 3-point range in the first half. Boise State made 7-of-11 (63.6%) in the opening 20 minutes highlighted by Rice’s 5-for-6 performance from deep. Rice had a career-high five 3-pointers by halftime and 21 points to give Boise State a 42-36 lead at the break.
“Twelve (Max Rice) just carried us in that first half offensively,” said Boise State coach Leon Rice, Max’s dad. “That was pretty amazing. I’ve seen guys score a lot of points in a half, but when they’re that efficient, that’s what makes all the difference in the world. That ranks up there as one of the best halves we’ve had in this gym since I’ve been here, and that’s saying something.”
The Broncos and Wolf Pack traded buckets to start the second half before Boise State put together an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the game to that point, 59-44, with 11:31 to play. Nevada would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way as the Broncos shot 52.7% from the floor, including 50% from 3-point range.
Max Rice had the basketball with the clock running down. Sitting at 29 points, he eyed the basket and thought about going for it. Leon Rice locked eyes with his son and mouthed “no.”
“I felt a little bit like Dean Smith on that last play,” Leon Rice said. “I’m the only one that stopped him. I made him hold the ball, but that was the right thing to do. But it’s hard for a college kid who wants to get 30. I made him take the (shot clock) violation. The team booed me for that afterwards, but Max gets it. We want to be respectful to Nevada.”
Tyson Degenhart chipped in 12 of his 15 points in the second half, Naje Smith scored all 12 of his points in the first half, and Chibuzo Agbo rounded out the Broncos in double figures with 10 points.
The Broncos are back on the road to face New Mexico on Friday. Tipoff is 9 p.m. Mountain time at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, or listen on the radio on KBOI 670 AM.
“We’re excited to go down there and battle them,” Max Rice said. “They’re a great team. We’re a great team. I think these are the type of games you want to play in college basketball.”
Women’s basketball: Broncos drop contest at UNLV
The Boise State women’s basketball team fell 73-61 to first-place UNLV on Monday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Abby Muse started things early for the Broncos (7-11, 2-3 MW), scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter. Mary Kay Naro was also a key contributor early, dishing out four assists in the opening period and hitting a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Broncos a 21-16 lead.
But the Rebels (17-2, 7-0) clawed back for a 30-27 lead at halftime and then came out hot in the second half, shooting 55.6% from the field and draining five 3-pointers in the third quarter. The 19-2 run resulted in a 60-43 UNLV lead the Broncos could never recover from.
Elodie Lalotte paced the Broncos with her 12th career double-double, scoring 19 points with 10 rebounds. The junior forward shot 9-of-12 from the floor. Muse added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, and Naro dished out a team-high six assists.
The Broncos return home for a matchup against Fresno State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at ExtraMile Arena.
BOISE ST. 77, NEVADA 62
Coleman 3-4 0-0 7, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Baker 4-10 4-5 12, Blackshear 5-12 1-2 12, Lucas 5-12 2-3 15, Davidson 3-4 2-3 8, Pettigrew 1-6 0-0 3, Foster 1-1 0-0 3, Powell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 9-13 62.
Degenhart 6-9 3-5 15, N.Smith 5-10 1-1 12, Agbo 3-9 4-5 10, M.Rice 10-14 3-3 29, Shaver 2-9 0-0 5, Whiting 1-2 0-0 2, Milner 2-2 0-1 4, Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-55 11-15 77.
Halftime—Boise St. 42-36.3-Point Goals—Nevada 7-19 (Lucas 3-8, Foster 1-1, Blackshear 1-2, Coleman 1-2, Pettigrew 1-3, Baker 0-1, Williams 0-2), Boise St. 8-16 (M.Rice 6-7, Shaver 1-3, N.Smith 1-3, Degenhart 0-1, Agbo 0-2).Rebounds—Nevada 28 (Williams 10), Boise St. 27 (N.Smith 8).Assists—Nevada 8 (Williams, Davidson 2), Boise St. 9 (Shaver 5).Total Fouls—Nevada 17, Boise St. 16.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 8:58 PM.
