BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State men's basketball team suffered their second setback of Mountain West play Friday night, coming up just short in an 81-79 overtime loss at New Mexico. It's just the fifth loss for the Broncos in their last 28 games against conference opponents.
The margin of defeat in each of those losses is minuscule:
1. Feb. 3, 2022: at Wyoming - L, 72-65
- The Broncos hit a pair of free-throws to get it to a one-possession game with 52 seconds left, but the Cowboys eventually pulled away.
2. Feb. 13, 2022: vs Colorado State - L, 77-74 (OT)
- Marcus Shaver, Jr. hit a three with eight seconds left in regulation to force overtime. He had another attempt to tie it as time expired in overtime, but couldn’t get it to fall.
3. Mar. 5, 2022: at Colorado State - L, 71-68
- Rams hit go-ahead shot with 56 seconds remaining in regulation. Shaver missed potential game-tying shot as time expired.
4. Dec. 28, 2022: at Nevada - L, 74-72
- Wolf Pack hit go-ahead shot with three seconds left in regulation.
5. Jan. 20, 2022: at New Mexico - L, 81-79 (OT)
- Tyson Degenhart tied the game with a three with one second left in regulation, then tied the game again with a three-point play with 24 seconds left in overtime, but the Lobos responded with the game-winner with two seconds left.
Since the beginning of last season, Boise State is the lone team in the Mountain West that hasn't suffered at least one double-digit loss in conference play.
TIE-SON DEGENHART
The sophomore forward was sensational against the Lobos on Friday, especially after halftime.
- Second half: 20 PTS (8-14 FG, 3-5 3-PT FG), 1 REB, 1 BLK
- Final stat line: 28 PTS (12-20 FG), 3-5 3-PT FG), 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK
Degenhart tied the game with one second left in regulation with a three, then tied the game again in overtime after converting a three-point play with 24 seconds remaining.
Playing in his 55th career collegiate game, Degenhart set career-highs in field goals made (12), field goal attempts (20) and points scored (28), however, the Broncos dropped to 10-1 all-time when he scores at least 17 points in a game.
More on Degenhart…
- It was the sixth time this season he’s played at least 33 minutes without committing a single turnover, tied for seventh most such performances in the NCAA.
- Degenhart has gone 162:16 of game action without committing a single turnover. His last one came 35 seconds into the second half of the Utah State game back on Jan. 7.
- Degenhart has played 674 minutes and only committed 27 total turnovers so far this season. Amongst all the NCAA players that have played at least that many minutes this season – and there are 132 of them – Degenhart has committed the 16th fewest turnovers.
WON-FOR-THREE
Boise State struggled to shoot the ball from three against New Mexico. They only made five threes, tied for their third fewest in a game this season, Also, their shooting percentage (20.8%) from behind the arc was a season-low.
The Broncos are now a perfect 14-0 when they make at least seven three-pointers this season, leaving them 1-5 overall when they fail to eclipse that mark.
- Degenhart did most of the damage from distance for the Broncos, tying a season-high with three three-point field goals.
- After shooting 58.3% from three over his first five Mountain West games, junior guard Chibuzo Agbo has gone 0-for-5 from three over the last two games combined.
- Senior guard Max Rice was only 1-for-6 from three. It’s the first time Rice failed to make multiple threes in a game in 2023.
NO-GO NAJ
Senior forward Naje Smith blocked three shots against New Mexico. It’s the fourth time this season he’s had three-or-more in a game.
It’s also the sixth time he’s done it in his career, tying former Bronco Ryan Watkins for the most three-plus block performance of the Leon Rice Era.
BOARD MAN
The smallest player on the Boise State roster continues to be one of their best rebounders. Senior guard Marcus Shaver, Jr. pulled down eight rebounds against the Lobos. It’s the seventh time he has hit that total this season, which is almost twice as many times as anyone else on the roster.
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