The Boise State men’s basketball team keeps their No.1 spot in the Mountain West Conference after a convincing win over the Utah State Aggies on Saturday, Feb. 19.
“Those guys are just amazing,” said head coach Leon Rice. “I’ve got mature guys that have high character, and that’s what makes them coachable. And then they trust each other and they trust the staff. That’s why it’s working.”
Boise State is now 21-6 on the year and 12-2 in conference play. This win gives the team a half-game advantage over the University of Wyoming, which is currently 11-2 in the Mountain West this season.
The beginning of the game was highly contested with both teams scoring after the other. This resulted in 10 lead changes throughout the first half.
“We had a timeout at the end of the (first) half and Marcus had the ball,” Coach Rice said. “Well, I’m gonna keep that timeout in my back pocket, because I’m not gonna draw up a better play than the ball in Marcus Shaver’s hand at the end of the clock.”
Sure enough, not calling the time out paid off after redshirt senior Marcus Shaver Jr. nailed the two-point jumper at the very end of the first half. Despite making the shot, the Broncos trailed 29-30 heading into halftime.
The game remained competitive from both sides in the second half with both teams neck and neck. Boise State finally broke this game trend with an 11-2 run within the final three minutes of the game to secure a 68-59 victory.
Shaver had a game-high 20 points after draining all six of his free throws and going 6 of 9 including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
“You never want to take it for granted, because it’s pretty dang special,” Coach Rice said about Shaver Jr. “I’ve watched that special for a long time, and it’s great to watch. That year when he redshirted, how many shots he made at the end of the games. It was like: ‘How bad is our defense?’ Well, no, how good is Marcus Shaver? And we’re getting better and better, our guys know and they get him the ball at the right times.”
The Broncos only have four games left in the regular season. Their next game will be against San Diego State in the ExtraMile Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
[Photos of Marcus Shaver Jr. leading up to a shot in the Boise State men’s basketball game against Utah State on Feb. 19]
