Despite recently losing their win streak, the Boise State men’s basketball team cruised past San Jose State 76-60 on Saturday, Feb. 5.
“This team has been amazing. We don’t make excuses. We don’t let people make excuses for us,” said head coach Leon Rice. “We didn’t have [redshirt senior guard Emmanuel Akot]. We had a tough loss. We’re banged up. All these things, but we just come out and compete, and we surely did that today.”
This win marks the Broncos’ 10th straight win over the Spartans. San Jose State is now 0-20 all time against Boise State on the road.
Both teams were tied at 8-8 early in the first half until freshman forward Tyson Degenhart took over and went on a solo 8-0 run to give his team the lead.
The Spartans then pulled within three points just for Degenhart to go on another 8-0 run later in the half. The Broncos held a 40-26 lead over the Spartans heading into halftime.
Boise State went on a 10-0 run to open up the second half and later went on a 19-4 run to create a game-high 29-point lead.
Degenhart finished the game with a career-high 23 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and his second 20 point game of the season. He was also named the Mountain West Freshman Player of the Week for the sixth time this year.
“He’s an old soul, kinda. He’s got a maturity about him, and that’s what makes him so good,” Rice said about Degenhart. “Usually freshmen have to figure a lot of stuff out. He’s kinda got it nailed.”
Along with Degenhart, fifth-year forward Abu Kigab and redshirt senior guard Marcus Shaver Jr. also scored in double-digits with 18 and 14.
The Broncos now sit at the top of the Mountain West with a conference record of 9-1 and an overall record of 19-5.
Boise State only has five home games left this season and looks to repeat their recent home game success against UNLV at the ExtraMile arena on Friday, Feb. 11.
“We told our guys this feels like the All-Star break because we played like an NBA schedule where it’s just game after game after game,” Rice said. “We need to be able to reset and then come out for the fourth lap of the mile.”
Photo by Claire Keener | The Arbiter
