Boise State men’s basketball closed out a victory against the University of Wyoming 65-62 Tuesday night (Jan 25) in front of a season-high crowd of 8,292 Bronco fans.
With this victory, the Broncos have extended their win streak to 13 games and have taken possession of No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference.
Boise State and Wyoming battled it out till the end, but only one Mountain West team could prevail as undefeated in conference play.
“We’re super confident when it comes down to the wire,” said freshman forward Tyson Degenhart. “On this win streak we’ve had, we’ve been in a lot of close games and found a way to win and we just continue to do that each and every night.”
The first three minutes started off scoreless until the Cowboy’s Graham Ike scored off a jumper. Shortly after, the Broncos made their way down the court where fifth-year forward Abu Kigab made a 3-pointer to get the anticipated match-up rolling.
After a missed 3-pointer from Kigab, redshirt senior forward Mladen Armus got the offensive rebound and scored off a layup to give the Broncos an edge over the Cowboys.
The rest of the half went back and forth as there were seven lead changes and three ties. The final shot of the half was a layup from Wyoming’s Brendan Wenzel, but Boise State led 30-24.
Armus started off the second half with an exciting dunk that brought Bronco Nation to their feet. The Broncos kept a steady lead over the Cowboys until Ike scored a layup from a turnover in the paint.
The second half consisted of more back and forth with six lead changes and one tie. Every time the Broncos would extend their lead, the Cowboys would find a way to come back.
With 1:34 left on the clock, Kigab tied the game 60-60 with a right-handed turnaround hook then drew an offensive foul on Wyoming’s Hunter Maldanado.
“I knew I was going to score on him,” Kigab said. “We work on that stuff every single day. I knew if I took my time I was going to get a good shot.”
Kigab led the charge for the Broncos with 18 points and five assists. He scored seven of his 18 points in the final 1:34.
As the Broncos took the final lead, the Cowboys had one more chance to tie the game as they took possession with 11 seconds remaining. Boise State defended the length of the floor and forced a timeout with two seconds left.
Wyoming had one more chance to score, but Kigab closed out on the shot, forcing the miss and securing Boise State’s victory.
Armus finished with eight points and five rebounds.
Degenhart reached double figures for the 10th time in the last 14 games with 14 points.
“I’m so proud of the guys, the way we just keep battling and then somehow find ways [to win],” said head coach Leon Rice.
This 13 win streak is the second-longest in program history. The first streak was set last season (2020-2021) until the streak ended with the team’s loss against Colorado State. The Broncos will attempt to keep their streak rolling with a matchup against Fresno State on Friday, Jan. 28.
