BOISE, Idaho – A 12-0 solo-run from Max Rice in the final five minutes of the game powered an upset victory for Boise State men’s basketball as the Broncos knocked off No. 18/19 San Diego State, 66-60, Tuesday night in front of a sold-out ExtraMile Arena. It marked the highest-ranked win at home for Boise State since a win over 15th-ranked Washington in 1998.
The Aztecs (23-6, 14-3 MW) led by eight with 4:42 when Rice drew a foul and earned a pair of free throws. After making the first attempt, the second bounced off the rim and was collected by Naje Smith, who kicked it back out to Rice for a 3-pointer. Less than a minute later Rice made yet another second-chance three, and followed it up with a third-straight bucket from deep on the following possession, giving the Broncos (23-7, 13-4 MW) the lead and forcing a San Diego State timeout with 2:42 left.
Rice converted a fastbreak-layup to cap his run, while good team defense and a pair of free throws from Marcus Shaver, Jr. closed out the home-finale win. Rice scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half to lead the Broncos.
Top Broncos
- Max Rice finished with a game-high 26 points – 16 coming in the second half – with five made threes in the game.
- Tyson Degenhart finished with 14 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor.
- Marcus Shaver, Jr. had nine points with a team-high seven rebounds.
- Naje Smith scored 10 points with six rebounds.
- Lukas Milner had a pair of blocks in his fourth career start.
- Jace Whiting had four rebounds and three assists.
Notables
- Tuesday’s victory over 18th-ranked San Diego State was Boise State’s first over a ranked team since Dec. 12, 2015, when the Broncos beat No. 24 Oregon.
- The win is the second-highest over a ranked opponent at ExtraMile Arena, and highest since a 69-61 victory over 15th-ranked Washington in 1998.
- It is the first time Boise State has gone undefeated at home in conference play since 1998.
- The Broncos have won 14-straight home games.
- Seventeen of the 29 meetings against San Diego State have been decided by single digits.
- The Broncos have claimed victory in four out of the last five meetings against the Aztecs.
- Boise State improved to 6-1 all-time when Rice scores 20+ points.
- Tuesday’s win was only the third time in the Leon Rice era that Boise State has out-rebounded San Diego State +10 – the last was a 58-62 defeat on Feb. 27, 2021.
- Boise State welcomed a season-high 12,208 fans to ExtraMile Arena. That’s the seventh-largest crowd for a home game in program history, and only the second time the Broncos have had three games at home with at least 12,000 fans. The last was 1987-88.
- The Broncos had 17 second-chance points.
- Boise State did not commit a second-half foul until 6:16 remained in the game.
Up Next
Boise State closes out the regular season with a trip to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State, Saturday (March 4). The Broncos and Aggies tip off at 7 p.m. MT, with streaming available on the Mountain West Network.
