Thursday, March 5
Las Vegas, Nev.
3:00 p.m. MT
Boise State
20-11,11-7Mountain West
67
vs
61
UNLV
17-15,12-6Mountain West
1
2
F
Boise St.
29
38
67
UNLV
24
37
61
Photo by: Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos
Broncos Beat Rebels, Advance To Semis
3/5/2020 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS -Â What a difference a week makes.
Fifth-seeded Boise State defeated fourth-seeded UNLV, 67-61, Thursday in quarterfinal action of the Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The win comes eight days after the Broncos dropped their regular-season finale to the Rebels in the same building.
Derrick Alston, Jr., Justinian Jessup and RJ Williams combined for 56 points and 31 rebounds to lead Boise State (20-11) to its first appearance in the conference tournament semifinal since 2015. The Broncos will face top-seeded San Diego State Friday, at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
Boise State held the Rebels (15-15) to 31.6 percent shooting from the floor and outscored UNLV in the paint, 28-18. Last week, UNLV hit 50.9 percent of its shots and scored 42 points inside.
"My staff did a terrific job, obviously, but it goes back to (the players) going out and doing it," head coach Leon Rice said of the team's defensive adjustments. "And then UNLV comes out first possession and hits a three, and they could have been like, 'oh, no, this isn't going to work.' But they stuck with it and they kept grinding all game, and that's what it was going to take."
The 31.6 percent shooting for UNLV is the lowest percentage Boise State has allowed against a Division I opponent since Feb. 28, 2018. The Rebels shot a better percentage from three-point range than they did inside the arc, making 9-of-27 triples (33.3 percent).
A late flurry of three-pointers kept UNLV in the game, trimming a double-digit Bronco lead to a one-possession game on five different occasions in the final five minutes, including cutting it to two twice.
Alston, Jessup and Williams went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 95 seconds to keep the Broncos on top. Jessup made the final four to ice the win and finish with 19 points. He is shooting 95.8 percent from the line this season and has made 25 consecutive free throws.
Williams led Boise State with 23 points and 15 rebounds, his third-straight double-double and 11th of the season. He had 15 points and 12 boards in the second half alone. Williams also tallied three assists, including threading the needle on a backdoor pass to Alex Hobbs for a layup to put the Broncos up five with 25 seconds left.
Alston chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He had eight points and seven rebounds before halftime.
Boise State held UNLV to three field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half. A 12-4 Bronco run had them on top by eight, but the Rebels beat the halftime buzzer with their fourth three-pointer of the period to cut Boise State's lead to five, 29-24, heading into the locker room.
The Broncos will make their third appearance in a Mountain West Championship semifinal Friday. Boise State fell short of reaching the title game in 2014 and 2015. The last championship game appearance for the Broncos came at the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Tournament, in Rice's first season as head coach.
The win Thursday secured Boise State's eighth 20-win season in Rice's 10 years at the helm. The Broncos had seven 20-win campaigns in its Division I history prior to Rice's arrival.
Fifth-seeded Boise State defeated fourth-seeded UNLV, 67-61, Thursday in quarterfinal action of the Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The win comes eight days after the Broncos dropped their regular-season finale to the Rebels in the same building.
Derrick Alston, Jr., Justinian Jessup and RJ Williams combined for 56 points and 31 rebounds to lead Boise State (20-11) to its first appearance in the conference tournament semifinal since 2015. The Broncos will face top-seeded San Diego State Friday, at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.
Boise State held the Rebels (15-15) to 31.6 percent shooting from the floor and outscored UNLV in the paint, 28-18. Last week, UNLV hit 50.9 percent of its shots and scored 42 points inside.
"My staff did a terrific job, obviously, but it goes back to (the players) going out and doing it," head coach Leon Rice said of the team's defensive adjustments. "And then UNLV comes out first possession and hits a three, and they could have been like, 'oh, no, this isn't going to work.' But they stuck with it and they kept grinding all game, and that's what it was going to take."
The 31.6 percent shooting for UNLV is the lowest percentage Boise State has allowed against a Division I opponent since Feb. 28, 2018. The Rebels shot a better percentage from three-point range than they did inside the arc, making 9-of-27 triples (33.3 percent).
A late flurry of three-pointers kept UNLV in the game, trimming a double-digit Bronco lead to a one-possession game on five different occasions in the final five minutes, including cutting it to two twice.
Alston, Jessup and Williams went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 95 seconds to keep the Broncos on top. Jessup made the final four to ice the win and finish with 19 points. He is shooting 95.8 percent from the line this season and has made 25 consecutive free throws.
Williams led Boise State with 23 points and 15 rebounds, his third-straight double-double and 11th of the season. He had 15 points and 12 boards in the second half alone. Williams also tallied three assists, including threading the needle on a backdoor pass to Alex Hobbs for a layup to put the Broncos up five with 25 seconds left.
Alex Hobbs. Natural-born scorer. pic.twitter.com/TrSc23T8yI
— Boise State MBB (@BroncoSportsMBB) March 6, 2020
Alston chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He had eight points and seven rebounds before halftime.
Boise State held UNLV to three field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half. A 12-4 Bronco run had them on top by eight, but the Rebels beat the halftime buzzer with their fourth three-pointer of the period to cut Boise State's lead to five, 29-24, heading into the locker room.
The Broncos will make their third appearance in a Mountain West Championship semifinal Friday. Boise State fell short of reaching the title game in 2014 and 2015. The last championship game appearance for the Broncos came at the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Tournament, in Rice's first season as head coach.
The win Thursday secured Boise State's eighth 20-win season in Rice's 10 years at the helm. The Broncos had seven 20-win campaigns in its Division I history prior to Rice's arrival.
Team Stats
Boise
UNLV
FG%
.368
.316
3FG%
.200
.333
FT%
.759
.615
RB
42
42
TO
12
14
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
19
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
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