Degenhart Breaks Scoring Record; Lifts Broncos Past Lobos

Friday, March 14

Las Vegas, Nev.

7:30 PM MT

Boise State

24-9,14-6Mountain West

New Mexico

26-7,17-3Mountain West

Boise St.

New Mexico

Degenhart Breaks Scoring Record; Lifts Broncos Past Lobos

3/14/2025 11:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LAS VEGAS — Led by Tyson Degenhart, who broke the school's all-time scoring record, Boise State defeated New Mexico, 72-69, on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Boise State (24-9) advances to the Mountain West Basketball Championship final for the first time since winning the tournament in 2022. The Broncos snapped New Mexico's (26-7) four-game winning streak, dating back to the regular season.

Three players scored in double figures, including Degenhart, who totaled a team-high 22 points. Degenhart's performance marked the 12th time he's scored at least 20 points in a game this season.

Emmanuel Ugbo contributed with 17 points (5-7 FGs), five rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes off the bench. Andrew Meadow added 16 points and five boards of his own.

Donovan Dent paced all players with a game-high 23 points. He shot 8-for-17 from the field and had five assists in the contest.

Nelly Junior Joseph recorded 19 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Mustapha Amzil and Tru Washington each pitched in with 10 points apiece.

To start Friday's game, New Mexico scored eight of the game's initial 10 points. With an efficient offensive flow for both teams, the two squads combined for 24 points (9-for-16 FGs) upon reaching the first media timeout.

Following the stoppage, the Broncos proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to capture their first lead of the evening. Four different players scored during the spurt which led to a prompt timeout by the Lobos.

Out of the timeout, New Mexico quickly retook the lead and held it for the remainder of the half. The Lobos led by eight on a couple occasions, but were never able to push to double figures.

To cap first-half scoring, Meadow nailed a pair of free throws to trim Boise State's deficit to six. Six of the nine Broncos who saw action in the opening 20 minutes cracked the scoring column.

Collectively, Boise State shot just 37 percent and made two of its 14 three-point attempts. New Mexico was held to just 40 percent from the field but led, 34-28, at the intermission.

In the first six minutes of the second half, the Broncos chopped five points of their deficit and trailed by one with 14:10 on the clock. With just under 12 minutes left to play in the game, Boise State evened the game at 47 on a second-chance bucket by Degenhart.

Later in the period Ugbo sparked the team's offense. He scored eight straight points for the Broncos and propelled the team to a 57-53 lead with 7:10 in the game.

Trailing 66-65 with 64 seconds left, Meadow connected on a three-pointer to give Boise State a two-point lead. Across the final minute, the Broncos outscored New Mexico, 7-3.

For the second consecutive game in the conference tournament, Boise State held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting. The Lobos shot 39.7 percent for the game and shot 25-for-63.

The Broncos have a quick turnaround and will face the winner of the Colorado State and Utah State semifinal matchup tomorrow afternoon. Airing live on CBS Sports Network, tip off of the championship game is set for 4 p.m. MT.

Notables:

The Broncos improve to 14-15 all-time against New Mexico and have won each of the last two head-to-head matchups with the Lobos.

For the second consecutive game¾and 14th time this season¾Boise State held its opponent to 40 percent or less shooting from the field.

Dating back to Jan. 29, the Broncos have won 11 of their last 13 games. In that span, the team has surrendered 70 points or more only twice.

Tyson Degenhart broke Boise State's scoring record and surpassed Tanoka Beard for the most points in program history. He now has 1,949 points in his career.

Degenhart scored 22 points against the Lobos, his 12th 20-point game of the season.

Alvaro Cardenas tied his career-high with 12 assists versus New Mexico. He surpassed 600 career helpers and became just the fourth player in Mountain West history to record 600+ assists.

Cardenas is the first Boise State player with 10+ assists in a conference tournament game this century.

Emmanuel Ugbo set career highs in points (17), three-point field goals (2) and blocks (3), while tying his career high in made field goals (5) and free throws (5).

Ugbo is the first Mountain West player to come off the bench and have 17+ points, 5+ rebounds and 3+ blocks in a MW tournament game.

RJ Keene II tied his career high with 10 rebounds. He has five double-digit rebound games this season, which is the third most among all Mountain West guards.