Boise State Runs Past Rebels in Second Half

Wednesday, January 11

Las Vegas, Nev.

9 p.m. MT

Boise State

13-4,3-1Mountain West

UNLV

12-4,1-3Mountain West

Boise St.

UNLV

Photo by: Boise State University

1/11/2023 11:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Postgame Notes

Broncos score 53 points in second half

LAS VEGAS – Boise State men's basketball shot a scorching 71.8% from the field - including 61.5% from three-point range - in the second half to power a comeback victory, 84-66, over UNLV, Wednesday night at Thomas & Mack Center.

Tyson Degenhart and Max Rice combined for 12 of the Broncos' (13-4, 3-1 MW) first 14 points to help build a seven-point advantage at the first media timeout. A scoring drought struck for Boise State as UNLV (12-4, 1-3 MW) held the visitors scoreless for over four minutes. The Runnin' Rebels used an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the night with 6:31 remaining in the half, and entered the break with a two-point advantage, 33-31.

The Broncos came out of the locker room hot, using a 14-5 scoring run including three triples from Chibuzo Agbo to help reclaim the lead 45-36, forcing a UNLV timeout. Boise State opened the half shooting 13-15 from the field, including nine-straight field goals over a four-minute stretch to blow the game open, 64-48 with 11 minutes to play. The Runnin' Rebels scored 12 of the game's next 14 points to draw within six at the under-eight timeout, but the Broncos allowed just six points the remainder of the way to close out the Quad 1 victory.

Agbo and Rice finished the game a combined 8-of-12 from behind the three-point line, while five Broncos reached double-figures for the second-straight game.

Top Broncos

Chibuzo Agbo scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 4-of-6 effort from deep.
Tyson Degenhart notched 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and a career-high six assists.
Marcus Shaver, Jr. scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half to go along with six assists and three rebounds.
Max Rice scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. He was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Naje Smith blocked six shots on the night.

Notables

Boise State shot 71.4% (20-28) from the field and 61.5% (8-13) from three in the second half. Both marks rank as the best for Boise State in second halves this season.
Five Broncos scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, and the second in as many games.
Tyson Degenhart is the only Bronco since at least 2010-11 to have 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a game.
Naje Smith is the first Boise State player in the Leon Rice era to block six shots in a game.
Boise State has scored 80-or-more points against back-to-back Mountain West opponents for the first time since the 2020-21 season when they did so in back-to-back games against Wyoming (Jan. 11, Jan. 13).
The 18-point victory is tied for the highest in the series against UNLV, and is the largest loss for UNLV.
Boise State won the battle on the glass (35-31) after outrebounding UNLV 18-11 in the second half.
The Broncos have won their last five games at Thomas & Mack Center.

Up Next

Boise State continues its road stretch with a visit to Wyoming, Saturday, Jan. 14. Another late-night affair is in store for the Broncos as tipoff is set for 9 p.m. MT, with national broadcast coverage available on FS1.