Boise State men’s basketball clinches top of Mountain West with win over Nevada

Boise State vs. UNR, Mountain West seed, 2022
Photo by Corissa Campbell

The Broncos have officially secured their first outright Mountain West regular-season championship since 1988.

“It’s their championship,” said head coach Leon Rice. “My nerves tonight were about them, just how bad I wanted it for them. I could taste it.”

After defeating Nevada 73-67 on Tuesday, March 1, the team is now 15-2 in conference play and will officially be the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. 

[Photo of Marcus Shaver, Jr. in the March 1 game against UNR.]
Photo by Corissa Campbell | The Arbiter

The team is also now 24-6 overall this season and one win away from tying the record for most wins in a season in school history with the 2007-08 and 2014-15 seasons.

Boise State went on multiple runs late in the first half and ended the first half with an eight-point lead. Redshirt senior guard Marcus Shaver Jr. and fifth-year forward Abu Kigab contributed to 28 of their 41 points in the half after both scored 14 points.

Despite the Broncos leading by as much as 13 points at one point in the second half, the Wolf Pack managed to trail by only one point with four minutes in the game. 

The game got very close near the end, but Boise State managed to prevent a Nevada comeback and finished the game off with a 73-67 win.

Kigab finished the game off with a game-high 23 points after shooting an efficient 75% (9-12) from the field. Redshirt senior forward Mladen Armus had a game-high eight rebounds in the game as well.

“We’ve proven that we’re good because of the teams that we’ve been able to beat,” Rice said. “We’ve got one more (regular season) game, and that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Boise State will now get ready to finish off their season against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado on Saturday, March 5.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I got to college,” Kigab said. “All I wanted to do was win a conference championship, go to the tournament and make as deep a run as possible. Our dreams are coming true, and we’re still not done yet.”

I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I got to college,” Kigab said. “All I wanted to do was win a conference championship, go to the tournament and make as deep a run as possible. Our dreams are coming true, and we’re still not done yet.”

Abu Kigab
Boise State vs. UNR, Mountain West seed, 2022
[Photo of the Boise State men’s basketball team celebrating their win against Nevada.]
Photo by Corissa Campbell | The Arbiter

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