BOISE, Idaho — No. 3 Boise State's run in the Mountain West Tournament ended in the quarterfinals Thursday night with a 76-66 loss to No. 6 New Mexico in the teams' third meeting of the season.
Lobo guard Jaelen House, who struggled against the Broncos (22-10) in the first two matchups, led the way with 29 points on 10-of-21 (47.6%) shooting in Las Vegas. All-Mountain West second teamer Donovan Dent added 22 points and four assists for New Mexico (24-9) in its tournament win.
“We don’t want to go home. I felt like I owed them one," House said. "I shot terribly and I didn’t play well against them the first two games, so I just felt like I owed them one.”
In Boise State's regular-season victory at ExtraMile Arena, forward O'Mar Stanley dominated down low, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds. In Thursday's defeat, Stanley was limited to six points on 14.3% from the floor, and the Lobos outscored the Broncos 40-20 in the paint.
New Mexico's bench also outscored Boise State's reserves 15-3 at the Thomas & Mack Center. All-conference first team forward Tyson Degenhart once again led the Bronco effort, posting a double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds.
After going down 7-2 and 15-10 early in the contest, head coach Leon Rice's group responded with runs to keep it a one-possession game at 22-20 with eight minutes left in the first half. House and Co. then used a 13-6 advantage to take a 35-26 lead into the break.
Boise State trailed by 11 early in the second half before it went on a 14-7 run to climb within four. New Mexico again responded with a 6-0 push to extend its lead back to 10, a brutal back-and forth for the Broncos that continued in the final 20 minutes.
“When you’re in a great league it’s the team that plays best that wins,” Rice said. "That’s what happened tonight.”
Despite the early exit from the Mountain West Tournament and falling short of their second conference title since 2022, the Broncos have likely earned the right to hear their name called on Selection Sunday, according to the so-called "experts."
ESPN's Joe Lunardi tabbed Boise State as a No. 8 seed for the 2024 NCAA Tournament in his latest 68-team projection, released Thursday night. Lunardi has the Broncos facing off with No. 9 seed Dayton in the Midwest Region.
In his Friday morning bracket, CBS's Jerry Palm has the Broncos as a No. 7 seed, facing off with No. 10 St. John's in Salt Lake City in the first round. Both bracketologists put New Mexico on the bubble prior to the start of the Mountain West Tournament.
Four Broncos scored in double figures in the quarterfinal loss, including Degenhart. Veteran guard Max Rice finished with 13 points and three rebounds, Chibuzo Agbo added 11 points and five boards, and Roddie Anderson III posted 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
New Mexico finished 28-of-64 from the floor on 43.8% shooting, while Boise State made just 29.4% of its 68 field-goal attempts. The Broncos shot better from the free-throw line and from behind the arc, but had more turnovers and a 22-6 disadvantage on fast-break points.
Photos: Boise State vs. New Mexico
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