Broncos Look to Bounce Back Against Pacific

Boise State (4-7) vs. Pacific (9-4)
1 p.m. MT | Saturday, Dec. 22
Taco Bell Arena | Boise, Idaho

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Game Notes

THE GAME: Boise State (4-7) will play its final game before a brief holiday break this Saturday, Dec. 22 (1 p.m.) at Taco Bell Arena against Pacific (9-4). The matinee will be the Broncos' second-to-last nonconference game of the season with a home matchup against Oregon (Saturday, Dec. 29) still on horizon before conference play begins.

WATCH: The game will stream on the Mountain West Network.

RADIO: Chris Lewis will handle play-by-play duties while Abe Jackson will provide commentary. The game will air on 670 AM KBOI or on the TuneIn app.

LAST TIME OUT: Loyola Marymount's James Batemon made a layup with one second remaining for a game-high 30 points, and LMU defeated Boise State 70-69 on Wednesday night.

LMU led 67-59 with 4:31 remaining before RJ Williams scored eight points in a 10-1 run to take the lead. His layup with seven seconds left gave the Broncos a 69-68 lead. Batemon took the inbounds pass, drove the length of the court and finished at the rim.

Williams, a Los Angeles native, scored 21 points with five rebounds and three assists. Justinian Jessup had 15 points and eight rebounds and Zach Haney scored 13 points.

ABOUT PACIFIC: The Tigers are 9-4 this season and winners of four-straight games coming into Saturday. Four Pacific players are averaging double figures: Roberto Gallinat (14.2 ppg), Lafayette Dorsey (13.8 ppg), Anthony Townes (11.8 ppg) and Jahlil Tripp (10.4 ppg).

THE SERIES: Boise State trails in the all-time series against the Tigers, 4-8. The last meeting took place 10 years ago on Nov. 14, 2008, where the Broncos claimed the 100-68 victory at Taco Bell Arena.

2019 DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC: Boise State will be one of eight teams in the 2019 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic field, the tournament announced Friday. The Broncos will be joined by Ball State, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, Houston, Portland, UTEP and Washington. Boise State will be playing in the tournament for the second time, as they came up just short of the title in 2013, going 2-1 and falling in the championship game against then-No. 14 Iowa State.

CLOSE GAMES, TOUGH LOSSES: Wednesday's loss was the latest one-possession game to not go the Broncos' way, as the team is now 0-4 in games decided by three or fewer points so far this season. The combined margin of those four games is just eight points. Boise State has done its part from the free throw line in those situations, however, going 14-of-19 (73.6%) from the free throw line in "clutch" situations (five minutes or less in regulation).

CONTINUE TO SHOOT A HIGH PERCENTAGE: Boise State was once again efficient from the field against LMU, finishing the night 24-of-45 (53.3 percent) – the highest field goal percentage the Lions allowed all season. The Broncos' two most efficient players: Zach Haney (64.8 FG %) and RJ Williams (54.2 FG %) naturally buoyed the Blue and Orange against the Lions, going 6-of-9 and 7-of-10 from the field, respectively.

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Players Mentioned

Zach Haney

Justinian Jessup

RJ Williams