Boise State men’s basketball loses to CSU Bakersfield 46-39

Boise State lost a close one at home against California State University (CSU) Bakersfield 46-39 on Friday, Nov. 26. The Broncos are now 1-1 at home and 3-3 overall this season.

Despite the game being close, head coach Leon Rice was livid about his team’s performance, especially their ability to score.

“Pathetic,” Rice said. “In my 12 years, that was the worst offensive display I’ve seen. I had an old coach that used to say, ‘You can’t make ‘em for ‘em,’ and boy, that’s what it felt like tonight. It started right from the start. We got some good looks, and they couldn’t get it in. The rim seemed like it got smaller and smaller. And by the end, we were playing on the carnival rims.”

Boise State had shot a program-low 22.4% from the field, 18.8% from the three-point line and 53.8% from the free-point line. They also scored the fewest amount of points in Rice’s time as head coach.

“You’re a Division I player and we were getting high school looks,” Rice said. “Like we were getting pretty open looks. And then we just did silly things. You can weather that whole storm if you step up and just make your free throws, and we go 7-for-13. Like I always say, two things that don’t last long are dogs that chase cars and teams that can’t shoot free throws. That was a close game, and we missed our free throws.”

Fifth-year senior Abu Kigab had tied the game at 36 after making one of his two free throws with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter. Bakersfield responded with consecutive field goals to take the lead 40-36 with 1:39 left in the game.

Bakersfield outscored Boise State 6-3 in the last minutes of the game to come out with a victory.

“We’ve got a chance to be really good because our defense is so good,” Rice said. “But you can’t win any games if you can’t put the ball in the hoop. I mean, that’s unreal.”

Boise State hopes to bounce back against Saint Louis in the ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday, Nov 30.