BOISE, Idaho — Following a five-game gauntlet away from the City of Trees, the Boise State men's basketball team finally returned home Tuesday night and picked up its 17th consecutive win at ExtraMile Arena.
The Broncos (5-3) trailed North Texas 64-58 with 1:49 left in the contest, before Boise State went on an 11-0 run to claim a 69-64 win over the Mean Green (5-3). As head coach Leon Rice said, Bronco Nation got their money's worth on Tuesday.
North Texas – who ranks fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 58.2 points per game – jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. Senior Chibuzo Agbo was the spark plug on offense, getting Boise State on the board with a put-back bucket, followed by big three.
Kansas transfer Cam Martin gave the Broncos their first lead with 11:40 remaining in the first half with back-to-back layups. The lead grew from 11-10 to 20-15, via six points by Agbo and a three-point bucket by Roddie Anderson III. Agbo had a pair of four-point plays in Tuesday's win.
Boise State took a 30-29 advantage into the locker room, closing the half on a 6-0 run and holding North Texas scoreless for the final 3:13. The Broncos shot 50% from the floor in the first 20 minutes, while the Mean Green shot 41.94%.
In the first 7:47 following the break, North Texas senior guard Rubin Jones totaled nine points to put his squad ahead 44-40. Boise State's next 11 points were scored by veterans Max Rice and Tyson Degenhart, who hit a big-time three to give the Broncos a 51-47 advantage with 8:30 remaining.
Degenhart scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and finished with three assists, three steals and two rebounds. Sophomore guard Jason Edwards posted eight points during a five-minute stretch as the Mean Green went up 60-57 with 3:33 to play.
Boise State went 11-of-15 (73.33%) from the free-throw line in the final five minutes Tuesday night. With less than a minute to go, Agbo cut the Broncos' deficit to 64-63 with a three. The 6-foot-7 guard scored a career-high 27 points in the win, adding four rebounds and two steals.
Agbo shot 63.63% from the field on 11 shots, including 6-of-9 from the three-point line. Following his big bucket, Degenhart hit two free throws after a Mean Green turnover. Rice and newcomer O'Mar Stanley put the game on ice, each knocking down a pair of free shots, as Boise State claimed its fifth win of the season.
The Broncos' 17-game home winning streak is the longest since they won 19-straight in the City of Trees from March 2, 1997, to Jan. 17, 1999. Since the start of the 2019-2020 campaign, Boise State is 54-7 at home.
Boise State vs. North Texas Game Replay:
Edwards led North Texas with 20 points and three steals Tuesday, while Jones added 16 points and C.J. Noland had 12 points and four steals. 10 or more Broncos played for the sixth-straight game and Boise State improved its all-time record against the Mean Green to 9-1.
Rice had seven points, three rebounds and three assists in the 69-64 win. Stanley had two points, four rebounds and three blocks, while Martin added five points, three boards, three assists and a pair of steals.
Boise State welcomes Western Oregon to ExtraMile Arena at 2 p.m. Saturday. Bronco Nation can watch the game on Idaho's Very Own 24/7, KTVB+, KTVB.COM and the KTVB mobile app.
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