Boise State to face Utah State tonight at 10pm on Newstalk KBOI
LAS VEGAS – Boise State outscored seventh-seeded UNLV 14-3 in overtime to withstand a second-half rally and advance to the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament with an 87-76 win, Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Broncos (24-8, 13-5 MW) led by as many as 22 points, but a 39-point second half and a buzzer beater just before the end of regulation tied the game at 73 to force overtime.
Naje Smith drilled a 3-pointer from the wing on the first first possession, giving his team a lead it would not concede. A personal foul followed by a technical on UNLV’s (19-13, 7-11 MW) Elijah Harkless gave Boise State four consecutive free throws, each of which were converted to extend the Bronco lead. Smith led all scorers with six points in overtime, and went 3-of-4 at the line in clutch situations.
Top Broncos
- Naje Smith scored a game-high 18 points – courtesy of a 6-of-7 performance from the charity stripe – while grabbing six rebounds.
- Chibuzo Agbo finished the night with 16 points -12 of which came in the first half – and six rebounds.
- Marcus Shaver, Jr. stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
- Tyson Degenhart knocked down 16 points and grabbed eight boards.
Notables
- Boise State made 13 3-pointers, second-most in program history in a conference tournament game.
- Boise State scored 50 points in the first half, the most first-half points by the Broncos this season.
- Boise State has reached the semifinal round of the Mountain West Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014-15.
- The Broncos have won eight-straight games against UNLV.
- Boise State picked up its first overtime victory of the season, ending a streak of three losses in overtime.
- The 87 points are the most scored by Boise State in a Mountain West Tournament game.
Up Next
Boise State advances to the semifinal round of the 2023 Mountain West Tournament, where they will face the winner of tonight’s matchup between third-seeded Utah State and fourth-seeded New Mexico. Tomorrow’s game will tip off at 10 p.m. MT with broadcast coverage provided by CBS Sports Network.
