BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State Broncos defeated the New Mexico Lobos 82-77 on Wednesday, thanks to a 50-point second half and hot shooting by Max Rice.
Rice, a redshirt senior guard, scored 22 of his career-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Broncos to a victory that keeps Boise State just one game behind San Diego State in the Mountain West basketball standings with three regular-season games to go, and avenging January's overtime heartbreaker.
During the second half, the Broncos shot 45.2% from the field, improving dramatically on their first-half 35.3% showing. The Lobos led for more than 20 minutes in the game, but the Broncos took the lead for good on Rice's jumper with 7:28 remaining. Boise State outrebounded New Mexico 23-18 in the second half.
Tyson Degenhart scored 13 points in the game and grabbed seven rebounds. Chibuzo Agbo scored 12, shooting 6-of-7 from the foul line for the Broncos (22-6, 12-3 Mountain West Conference).
The Lobos (20-8, 7-8) were led in scoring by Morris Udeze, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jaelen House added 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and two blocks for New Mexico. KJ Jenkins also had 12 points and six rebounds.
Boise State has won 13 games in a row on their home court at ExtraMile Arena. That's the longest home winning streak since they won 18 straight from Feb. 23, 2020, to Feb. 19, 2021.
Next up for the Broncos: Boise State visits San Jose State Saturday. Game time is 5 p.m. MST. It will be televised on NBC Sports Bay Area and broadcast on radio at KBOI 670 AM and KTIK 93.1 FM.
The Broncos return home to ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 28, for a showdown with San Diego State that figures to decide the top seed in the Mountain West conference tournament. That game, scheduled for 7 p.m., will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
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