Boise State Falls to Boston College in Final Seconds

Tuesday, November 26

George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (John Gray Gymnasium)

5:30 PM MT

Boise State

5-2,0-0Mountain West

Boston College

6-1,0-0ACC

Boise St.

Boston College

11/26/2024 7:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Boise State's late rally wasn't enough as Boston College's Joshua Beadle hit a game-winning three-pointer with two seconds remaining to hand the Broncos a 63-61 loss in the Cayman Islands Classic championship game on Tuesday night.

Javan Buchanan led Boise State (5-2) with 24 points, his second straight 20-point performance, while Tyson Degenhart added 10 points and five rebounds. Despite a strong effort in the final minutes, the Broncos had to battle through a tightly contested second half featuring five ties and six lead changes.

Boston College (6-1) gained the late edge by going up five points with three minutes to go in the second half, but the Broncos clawed back to take a slim 61-60 lead with 12 seconds left, courtesy of Alvaro Cardenas' clutch free throws.

The Eagles, who shot 57% from the field in the second half, countered with Beadle's decisive fadeaway three-pointer from the left corner. Boise State attempted a final shot from midcourt on the subsequent inbound but the ball caught the front of the rim to end the game.

"We didn't want him to get to the paint, and we switched everything," said Boise State head coach Leon Rice about Boston College's final possession. "They were 1-of-11 from three before that, and he made a nice step back jumper from three to beat us."

Both teams were efficient in the second half, with Boise State shooting 47% from the field. Buchanan carried the Broncos offensively, scoring 16 points after halftime to keep the team within striking distance.

Boise State finished with a 30-28 edge on the boards but Boston College outscored the Broncos, 40-30, in the paint.

The Broncos reached the championship game of an in-season neutral tournament for the first time since the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach in 2017-18.

"(It) was a heck of a tournament for our guys, we're gonna learn a lot," said Rice. "There's a lot we got to get better at…That's why you come to these (in-season tournaments), so you can improve, and you know you can continue to get better. We were brilliant in time, in moments, and just didn't sustain it down the stretch. One more stop, you probably feel completely different, right? Proud of our guys."

The Broncos will return home to face Utah Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.

NOTES
Javan Buchanan was named to the all-tournament team. He finished the tournament by averaging 26.0 points on 60.6% shooting (20-of-33) in the final two games.

Boise State forced Boston College into 18 turnovers and held it to only eight assists on the 25 field goals made.

Julian Bowie scored eight points to help Boise State's bench total 32 points in the game.

O'Mar Stanley led the team with six rebounds, but fouled out with two minutes remaining in the contest.

Alvaro Cardenas joined Buchanan and Degenhart in double-digit scoring with 11 points. He also had three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

The Broncos' 20 field goals made and 39.2% field goal shooting were their fewest in a game this season.

Both of Boston College's two three-pointers made in the game were in the second half: Elijah Strong at 18:49 and Beadle's with two seconds left.