For Saint Mary’s, Idaho Falls means falling to Boise State in nonconference game
The Saint Mary’s Gaels will be glad to see the back of Idaho Falls’ Mountain America Center in their rear-view mirror.
A perennial NCAA Tournament team, Saint Mary’s came to Eastern Idaho to play Boise State for the third straight year on Sunday. And for the third straight time, the Broncos sent the Gaels back to the Bay Area with a tough loss.
Boise State (8-3) survived a wild finish to defeat Saint Mary’s (9-2) by a 68-67 score in a streaky game that saw the Gaels get a chance to win in the end, but a strip-steal from senior guard Dylan Andrews preserved the win and spared the Broncos the ignominy of blowing a 14-point lead in the final four minutes.
The one-point victory was only fitting for a matchup that’s produced late drama on all three occasions. The Broncos won 63-60 in 2023 thanks to clutch free throws from Max Rice and Tyson Degenhart, and then won 67-65 in an overtime thriller last year.
“I promise that’s not the deal,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said with a laugh when asked in his postgame KBOI radio interview whether the teams were contractually obligated to play such games.
“It looked like we were trying to do that.”
With a little over four minutes left, the Broncos led 66-52 and had the game in hand. But the Gaels embarked on a 12-0 run that coincided with five BSU turnovers and three missed shots, and suddenly it was 66-64 with 15 seconds left.
Boise State made it 68-64 after redshirt senior guard RJ Keene beat the Gaels’ press on the inbounds with an over-the-top pass to freshman guard AG Neto for an easy layup. The play was reminiscent of Keene’s late quarterback-esque pass to Andrew Meadow in the Mountain West Tournament semifinal win over New Mexico last season.
However, Saint Mary’s quickly responded with a 3-pointer that took just 2.9 seconds from the inbounds to the shot. Rice wanted to call a timeout but simply didn’t have time.
“You’ve got to give Saint Mary’s credit,” Rice said. “They got that ball up so quick and into a good shot in 2.9 seconds. That was remarkable.”
A quick foul from the Gaels sent Neto to the line for a one-and-one. But the Broncos young guard missed his first shot, giving Saint Mary’s a chance. With the seconds ticking down, Andrews was perfectly positioned to strip the ball away from a driving Joshua Dent to save the win.
Boise State came out with all guns firing in the early minutes of the game, building a 13-0 lead and forcing coach Randy Bennett to call an early timeout for the Gaels, who went on a 12-0 run to create a tight first half, which ended with the Broncos up 37-32.
Boise State was led by junior transfer Drew Fielder. The 6-foot-11 forward put up a game-high 22 points, all while dealing with a pair of Gaels giants: 7-foot-1 center Harry Wessels and 7-foot-3 center Andrew McKeever.
The pair of centers combined for just seven points and 10 rebounds, while Fielder pulled in six rebounds on his own.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like they can guard me,” Fielder told KBOI. “And I definitely don’t feel like they can guard the spots that everyone puts me in. So it’s just great, it’s fun basketball.”
The only other Bronco in double-digit scoring on the night was senior forward Javan Buchanan, who had seven of his 11 points in the opening 13-0 run.
The only Saint Mary’s player to enjoy a good night offensively was forward Paulius Murauskas, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Otherwise, the Broncos held the Gaels to just 36.8% shooting from the floor and only one 3-pointer in the second half.
“We have enough depth that if you’re not going to do (defense), well another guy will do it,” Rice said. “And that’s how you make guys better.”
The win capped off an unusual nonconference slate that ended way better than it started for the Broncos. After opening the season with a loss to Division II program Hawaii Pacific at home, and then losing back-to-back games playing in the Maui Invitational for the first time, Rice’s team responded to win a true road game at Butler and get the crucial victory over Saint Mary’s.
The Gaels came into the game ranked No. 17 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, meaning the Broncos notched their second Quad 1 victory in eight days.
Up next is the start of conference play, with Boise State traveling to Reno next Saturday to meet Nevada (8-3) in Mountain West play.
“I’m more than excited to go and bump and do our thing,” Fielder said. “And I have such high confidence in this team and my guys and our prep and our coaching staff.”
