Colorado State pushes Boise State around in ugly loss. Road test at Utah State looms
There are no days off in Mountain West play, but Boise State had an off night at Colorado State’s Moby Arena on Tuesday.
The Broncos hit just 11 field goals in the first half, shot 41 percent from the floor and 25% from 3-point range, and missed six free throws in the second half of a 75-62 loss to the Rams.
Almost nothing went right for the Broncos, who missed everything from simple layups to a wide-open slam dunk. Chibuzo Agbo, one of the team’s most consistent scorers, had an easy dunk bounce off the front of the rim at a moment in the second half when a bucket would have ended a Colorado State run.
The Rams (18-5, 6-4 Mountain West) shot 56 percent from the floor and turned 19 trips to the free throw line into 16 points. They also scored 40 points in the paint and battled one of the conference’s top rebounding teams to a 29-29 draw.
Boise State coach Leon Rice said Colorado State was the more physical team on Tuesday.
“They were more aggressive to start the game,” Rice told KBOI radio after the game. “Our guys are willing and tough and they battled, but we just didn’t have the bounce we normally have.”
Even when the Broncos (16-7, 7-3 MW) seemed to find their rhythm and make a run, Colorado State had an answer.
In the first half, Boise State put together a 9-2 run and cut its deficit to four, but Colorado State point guard Isaiah Stevens ended that with a 3-pointer and got a late layup to fall to send the Rams into halftime with a 37-30 lead.
In the second half, the Broncos went on a 10-4 run and cut the lead to six, but a steal led to a layup and a foul shot by Colorado State guard Joe Palmer. That sparked an 11-2 run that ended with the Rams leading 57-42.
“Credit to Colorado State because they were the more physical team and it affected us,” Boise State junior Tyson Degenhart said.
Degenhart led the Broncos with 25 points and added seven rebounds. It was the fifth time he has scored at least 20 points in the Broncos’ past nine games. He shot 10-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line on Tuesday.
“He’s so efficient with his scoring and such a tough kid,” Rice said. “We needed him tonight, and he just kept coming.”
Stevens paced Colorado State with 16 points and 11 assists. He scored seven of the Rams’ first nine points in the second half, and he finished the game 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
Tuesday’s loss was especially painful for the Broncos with a road game at No. 22 Utah State looming on Saturday (8 p.m., FS1).
Rice said every week feels like a gauntlet in the Mountain West, which has three teams in the latest AP Top 25 poll: Utah State, No. 24 San Diego State and No. 25 New Mexico. Boise State and Nevada have also received votes this season.
“It’s one good team after another, and the grind is cumulative,” Rice said. “To go on the road, you’ve got to play your A game to win.”
Utah State, which beat the Broncos in overtime in Boise on Jan. 27, also lost Tuesday — at home to Nevada by a 77-63 score. That and San Diego State’s win over Air Force created a four-way tie for first place in the conference between Boise State, Utah State (19-4, 7-3), San Diego State (18-5, 7-3) and New Mexico (19-4, 7-3).
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
