Boise State survives OT scare after blowing 22-point lead. ‘Our guys are so resilient’
As Naje Smith made his way along the Boise State bench for the final time, assistant coach Mike Burns stopped him for a big bear hug.
“He was just so proud of me and the way I played,” Smith said. “He’s definitely on my ass a lot … so it’s nice to kind of see the other side of him. Instead of him being so tough, showing his loving side after riding me.”
Burns had good reason to be proud.
Smith scored a team-leading 18 points and started overtime with a huge 3-pointer to help No. 2 Boise State hold off No. 7 UNLV 87-76 in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
With the win, Boise State advanced to the semifinals for the third time in the past four years and the fifth time overall. The Broncos (24-8) will play No. 3 Utah State — a 91-76 winner over New Mexico — at 10 p.m. Mountain time Friday, and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
All five Broncos scored in double figures, but it was Smith who came through in overtime. The fifth-year senior from Spokane, Washington, sank a 3-pointer on the Broncos’ opening possession and went 3-for-4 from the foul line in the extra period to finish with a team-high 18 points. He shot 5-for-8 from the floor, and had six rebounds and two assists in a little more than 38 minutes of action.
“When there’s so limited possessions ... to get up three can change a game right away,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “That was a huge shot by him.”
Boise State started the game with a 3-point barrage and didn’t let up in the first half. Tyson Degenhart connected first, then Max Rice and Marcus Shaver Jr. for an early 9-0 lead. The Broncos sank 10-of-14 (71.4%) from deep in the first half to build as much as a 22-point lead, 48-26, with 2:17 remaining in the first half.
“Boise came out and punched us in the mouth early,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “We were kind of chasing our tail a little bit there. They took on a challenge and made everything and put us in a pretty good-sized hole.”
That 22-point cushion would prove crucial, as the Broncos went just 2-for-13 from deep in the second half to let the Rebels (19-13) back in the game. Although Boise State led for all but 29 seconds, UNLV took its first and only lead at 67-65 when EJ Harkless was fouled on a drive to the hoop with 4:04 remaining in regulation.
A 3-pointer from Marcus Shaver Jr. would put the Broncos up 72-67 with 1:22 to go, but the Rebels immediately responded with a 3 of their own to make it 72-70.
Shaver was fouled with the Broncos in the bonus and 13.1 seconds on the clock. The fifth-year senior made 1-of-2 free throws, opening the door for a game-tying shot from UNLV sophomore Shane Nowell from deep in the corner after an offensive rebound.
“Our guys are so resilient and we just talked about, ‘Hey, you’ve gotta go win it twice,’” Leon Rice said. “That’s what we did. Those guys made some huge plays.”
After Smith’s 3-pointer to open the scoring in overtime, the Rebels scored on a driving layup from senior Justin Webster, but it would be their only field goal in OT. The Broncos held the Rebels without a basket over the final 4 minutes while going 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.
“It just shows how resilient together we are as a team,” Smith said. “Ever since the beginning, this is what we dreamed about and this is what we worked towards. It’s nice to see our work finally paying off, and you could definitely tell down the stretch that we were the most connected team and we stayed together, and that’s what helped us win this game.”
BOISE ST. 87, UNLV 76 (OT)
UNLV (19-13): Harkless 7-18 2-2 18, J.McCabe 4-8 0-0 10, Ju.Webster 6-12 1-2 18, Muoka 1-7 0-0 2, S.Nowell 3-6 0-0 8, Iwuakor 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson III 1-3 0-0 2, K.Hall 1-2 0-0 2, Ks.Gilbert 3-5 0-1 7, L.Rodriguez 2-4 1-2 7. Totals 29-66 4-7 76.
BOISE ST. (24-8): Agbo 6-10 1-1 16, Degenhart 7-16 0-0 16, Rice 3-9 3-5 12, N.Smith 5-8 6-7 18, Shaver Jr 6-9 2-5 17, Kuzmanovic 0-0 0-0 0, Milner 1-1 0-0 2, Whiting 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 30-58 14-20 87.
Halftime—Boise St. 50-34. End Of Regulation—Tied 73. 3-Point Goals—UNLV 14-32 (Ju.Webster 5-10, J.McCabe 2-4, Harkless 2-7, S.Nowell 2-4, L.Rodriguez 2-3, Ks.Gilbert 1-2, Johnson III 0-2), Boise St. 13-28 (Shaver Jr 3-5, Agbo 3-5, Ma.Rice 3-8, Degenhart 2-5, N.Smith 2-4, Whiting 0-1). Fouled Out—Harkless. Rebounds—UNLV 32 (Muoka 8), Boise St. 36 (Degenhart, Shaver Jr 8). Assists—UNLV 17 (Harkless 7), Boise St. 17 (Shaver Jr 5). Total Fouls—UNLV 21, Boise St. 12.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 9:46 PM.
