Broncos ‘keep going’ to rout San Jose State, push winning streak to 4 games
Things looked a whole lot different around the Boise State basketball program two weeks ago.
After falling to UNLV in a crushing overtime loss, the team sat at 1-5 in Mountain West Conference play and was winless in four games. In the span of two weeks, the Broncos’ season goals went from an NCAA Tournament berth to wondering whether it was possible for them to earn a top four seed and bye in the league tournament.
But a lot changes in college basketball over the course of two weeks. After defeating San Jose State 89-58 on Tuesday night in Northern California, Boise State now sits at 5-5 in conference play and is back in the thick of things.
The Broncos (13-8) let things be too close for comfort in the first half against the lowly Spartans (6-15, 1-9), but they outscored their hosts 53-25 in the second half. The victory came after a 96-54 win over Air Force last Friday, meaning Boise State outscored the bottom two teams in the conference by a combined 73 points.
“They hung with us, and we missed a lot of lanes, and we missed some free throws,” Boise State coach Leon Rice told KBOI in his postgame interview. “So we just felt like, if we could just keep going, keep going, we were going to wear down their defense a little bit and start getting to the rim. And that’s what we did in the second half.”
After enduring a four-game losing streak against four of the top five teams in the conference, the Broncos now have a four-game winning streak against the bottom of the Mountain West. Whether they can rebound for wins against the league leaders will determine where they sit come March.
Just as Boise State’s season has been streaky, so was Tuesday night’s game against the Spartans — to the utmost degree. BSU had an 8-0 run that was countered by San Jose State’s 6-0 run. The Broncos then had a 9-0 run, and SJSU a 7-0 run. The teams traded blows and Rice’s team led just 36-33 at halftime.
In the second half, only Boise State had the scoring spurts, and its consistent, hard play allowed the Broncos to steadily build an insurmountable lead. It started with a 13-3 run to make it 49-39, and it was 61-44 midway through the second half.
Throughout the key second-half stretch, Boise State outrebounded San Jose State 22-5, outscored the Spartans 36-12 in the paint and had just four turnovers.
Freshman forward Bhan Buom contributed a career-high 11 points in just 10 minutes of action and was one of five Broncos in double digits. Drew Fielder had a game-high 16 points, and Andrew Meadow (15), Dylan Andrews (11) and Pearson Carmichael (11) also hit double figures.
Buom played 21 minutes in the win against Air Force and was super productive in his playing time at San Jose State. He credited his “practice ability and what I’m doing in practice and showcasing to my coaches and my teammates,” Buom told KBOI. “I feel like I’m working hard, and my coaches see it, and they gave me a chance.”
San Jose State was still in the game in large part because of its 3-point shooting in the first half, going 6-for-12. But that cratered to 2-for-10 in the second half, and the Spartans shot just 20-for-53 (37.7%) from the floor.
The Broncos won’t return to Boise this week; instead, they were heading straight to Phoenix in preparation for their game at Grand Canyon on Friday. The Antelopes (13-7, 6-3) defeated Boise State 75-58 in ExtraMile Arena on Jan. 7, part of the losing streak to the Mountain West’s leading teams.
But a revenge victory would put the Broncos right on fifth-place Grand Canyon’s heels heading into February, with Nevada (15-6, 7-3), which visits Boise on Tuesday night, next up in the standings.
“We’ve got our hands full on Friday,” Rice said. “We know that we got our hats handed to us by them at our place, and so we’re excited to get back down there.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Broncos ‘keep going’ to rout San Jose State, push winning streak to 4 games."
