Boise State ended up on the wrong side of a stunning upset in their season opener Monday night, losing 79-78 to Division II Hawaii Pacific at ExtraMile Arena.
The Hawaii Pacific Sharks hit the ground running, scoring eight of the game’s first 10 points and eventually leading the Broncos for over 27 minutes in the contest. Despite the loss, the Broncos showed grit, chipping away throughout the game and even using an 8-2 run in the final minutes of the game to cut a seven-point deficit to one.
In the end, the Broncos couldn’t cash in their last opportunities and eventually fell by one point to a team they were widely favored to beat. Head Coach Leon Rice cited his team’s lack of an edge as a factor in the loss.
“We didn’t set a tone,” Rice said. “This team’s going to have to play with an edge, and we let [Hawaii Pacific] get comfortable and we let them make threes and do what they wanted to do, dictate the game to us. Then we played desperate.”
Senior guard Joshua West led the way offensively for the Sharks, scoring 23 points and shooting 3-of-6 from downtown. Forwards Quinton McCullough and Josh Niuslu each scored 12, and Quentin Meza scored 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. The Sharks offensive surge snapped Boise State’s four-year season opener win streak, dating back to the 2020-21 season.
Five Broncos made their team debut Monday, including two who saw collegiate game action for the first time in their careers. One of the Broncos making his team debut was point guard Dylan Andrews, who transferred from UCLA earlier this year. Andrews led the team with 15 points and nine assists.
“It’s a team coming in here with nothing to lose,” Andrews said, touching on what allowed the Sharks’ offense to be so effective. “They just shot the ball well, they had great shooting, so credit to them. Of course [the loss] sucks that it happened, but you always need a humbling, and I feel like this is perfect for us and we’re going to have fire going throughout the whole entire season.”
Despite the loss, there were a handful of Broncos whose play was solid. Freshman Spencer Ahrens tallied 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in his collegiate debut, with Georgetown transfer Drew Fielder scoring 13 and grabbing seven boards. Additionally, freshman Aginaldo Neto, a native of Luanda, Angola notched seven points, three rebounds and two assists off the bench.
The strong debuts of many new Broncos were efficient, but in the end, not effective. The Sharks were productive offensively, sinking 16-of-33 field goals and leading 38-37 at the conclusion of the first half.
At the 9:22 mark of the second half, Bronco forward Spencer Ahrens hit a shot from beyond the arc, giving Boise State a three-point lead, their biggest of the night. Boise State soon lost this lead, trailing by seven points in the final minutes. The Broncos then went on an 8-2 run and with three minutes remaining in regulation to cut their deficit to one. The team wasn’t able to capitalize on this, and soon thereafter watched the clock hit triple-zeros down by one.
When asked about the communication breakdown that allowed the Sharks to attack the basket so easily, Drew Fielder noted the difference between practice and game-time scenarios. Fielder, a Boise native and former Georgetown Hoya, added that ensuring the utmost intensity during practice will be a focal point for the team moving forward.
“Game time comes and it looks a lot different,” Fielder said. “We’ve got to make sure that in our preparation going forward that we’re playing even harder and making it look game-like. We’ve just got to get back to practice and get it right.”
The Broncos have the remainder of the week to make the proper adjustments before Utah Valley comes to Boise for a 2 p.m. tip off on Saturday. With roughly four months worth of games left before The Big Dance in March, the Broncos will look to fine-tune their game and build momentum as they push through the rest of the season.
