Cardenas claims program assist record, but turnovers plague Boise State in loss at SDSU
San Diego State basketball has made a name for itself in recent years off the back of a stout defense. A trip to the Aztecs’ Viejas Arena is typically a daunting prospect for Mountain West teams, but the Boise State Broncos didn’t help themselves when they made the trip to Southern California on Saturday night.
Boise State (17-8, 9-5 Mountain West) turned the ball over 14 times in a 64-47 loss to San Diego State (17-6, 10-4). The Broncos’ 47 points were a season low.
And although the Broncos forced 15 turnovers themselves, only the Aztecs capitalized: Boise State shot a rough 19-for-55 (34.5%) from the field compared to San Diego State’s 26-for-48 (52.2%) clip.
The loss knocked the Broncos out of the Mountain West regular season title conversation. Boise State is now 0-5 against the four teams above it in the standings.
Boise State averaged 11.1 turnovers per game heading into Viejas Arena but nearly matched that in the first 20 minutes with nine first-half turnovers. The Aztecs forced opponents into 13.6 turnovers per game ahead of Saturday night, the third-best mark in the Mountain West.
“They were really physical into the ball all night,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said. “It takes a lot to handle the ball for 40 minutes against these guys.”
While the San Diego State defense has earned its reputation, Boise State coughed up too many unforced turnovers on Saturday.
At one point, freshman guard Julian Bowie threw a pass out to the wing that sailed far into the crowd. Moments later, redshirt sophomore forward Dylan Anderson miscommunicated with his man inside, lobbing the ball harmlessly out the backline.
The Broncos also turned the ball over three times via shot clock violations.
“I think we got some good looks, but I don’t think we got a ton of them,” senior forward Tyson Degenhart said. “Their pressure makes you work really hard.”
Degenhart finished with a team-high 17 points. He also had 12 rebounds for a double-double.
The night’s highlight for Boise State arguably came in the opening minutes. It took just 67 seconds for senior guard Alvaro Cardenas to dish out his first assist of the night and 165th of the season, tying La’Shard Anderson’s 2010-11 season for the most assists in a season in Boise State history.
Cardenas bounced a beautiful pocket pass into the paint less than three minutes later to assist Degenhart for assist No. 166, claiming sole ownership of the record. Cardenas ended the night with a season-low three assists.
The Broncos struggled with turnovers from the tip-off but stayed in the game by forcing similar issues out of the Aztecs. After eight minutes of play, there had been a combined six turnovers and just four field goals as the Broncos held onto a slender 9-8 lead.
While San Diego State eventually started finding the basket, the same couldn’t be said for Boise State. The Aztecs ended the half on an 11-0 run, while Boise State could only muster 18 points for the entire half.
Degenhart and sophomore forward Andrew Meadow were responsible for the bulk of those points, scoring seven apiece. Meadow ended the game on seven points.
A couple of second-half runs, sparked by seven points from freshman guard Pearson Carmichael, brought the Broncos to within 11 points, at 55-44, with just over 2 minutes left in the game. But Boise State would score just three points in the final couple of minutes as the Aztecs completed a regular season sweep over the Broncos.
Boise State’s next game is at home against the conference-leading New Mexico Lobos (21-4, 13-1). Last month, New Mexico routed Boise State 84-65 at The Pit.
“We have to play better, we have to play tougher, and we probably have to be a lot more physical than what we did tonight,” Rice said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2025 at 11:09 PM.
