Broncos suffer heartbreaking 59-63 loss to Idaho

Mac Hopson scored 20 points Thursday night to give the Idaho Vandals the victory against Boise State 63-59.

Brandon Wiley had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Vandals (10-10, 4-3 Western Athletic Conference) while Kashif Watson added 10 points, and led the team in rebounding with 10.

Boise State (14-6, 5-3) was led by Mark Sanchez’s 18 points, who led all rebounds with 14. This marked Sanchez’s fifth season and career double-double. Jamar Greene added a career-high 16 points and Paul Noonan finished with 11 for the Broncos.

Idaho was down 26-22 with 2:45 left in the first half when Wiley hit a jumper that sparked a 9-0 run and gave Idaho a 29-26 lead at the break.

The Vandals held a 12-point lead in the second half after Wiley hit a putback with 12:40 to go, but Boise State began to whittle it down.

The Broncos’ Greene cut Idaho’s lead to 49-44 with 4:57 left in the game, but Idaho coach Don Verlin called a time-out to settle his troops.

Boise State continued to battle, but Idaho began to hit from the perimeter with Hopson and Terrence Simmons hitting 3-pointers and long 2-pointers.

Simmons hit a pair of baseline jumpers with less than two minutes to go, giving Idaho a 59-52 lead.

Idaho was only 11-for-25 in free throws for the game but hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12.3 seconds to seal the win.

Idaho’s defense held Boise State to 37 percent shooting. The Vandals shot 47 percent for the game.

COURTESY BRONCOSPORTS

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