No matter how you slice it, the Boise State Broncos men's basketball team in ExtraMile Arena defiantly states, "not in our house!"
A stifling defensive effort and buoyed by an energized atmosphere, the Broncos picked up their 22nd-straight home win on Tuesday night. This time, it was the 17th-ranked Colorado State Rams falling to Boise State, 65-58.
Boise State (11-4, 2-0) harassed the Rams all game, holding Colorado State to 25 points under their season average. The Broncos forced 16 turnovers and twice held the Rams without a field goal for long stretches.
The offense did just enough despite lapses of their own, finding key buckets and going on extended runs to keep Colorado State at bay. And while only five players found the scoring column, all five were in double digits.
At the top of the list was once again O'Mar Stanley, who posted yet another double-double. Stanley finished with a game-high of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Tyson Degenhart and Chibuzo Agbo added 13 while Max Rice, despite an off night from the field (2-12), finished with 11.
Boise State got some much-needed scoring from what was again a short bench. Freshman Andrew Meadow scored 11, with only Jace Whiting and Kobe Young the only others to see minutes off the bench, both mostly in the first half.
The Broncos were shorthanded in the interior, with Cam Martin not suited up for the game.
Still, Boise State made do, and continued to protect their home court while picking up a valuable conference win in the process.
First half cold front
Both teams started out jittery on offense, with the game's first points not being scored until over two minutes elapsed. Boise State was only 1-8 to start and the game was only tied at four with 4:16 elapsed.
Struggles continued for both sides the first ten minutes, with Boise State shooting only 4-16 and Colorado State committing five turnovers. The Rams (13-3, 1-2) put together a 9-2 to go up 15-11 with 7:29 left in the half.
Rice was energized on the defensive end, coming up with hard-nosed efforts. A Stanley to Agbo connection gave the Broncos a lead, 18-17. It was one they'd never relinquish, going up by as many as eight behind an Agbo three-pointer with 1:18 left in the half.
Boise State held a 28-21 halftime lead thanks in part to holding the Rams without a field goal for the last 4:30 of the half. And the Broncos kept Colorado State star Isaiah Stevens in check, holding the MWC preseason MVP to only three points on 1-3 shooting, with zero assists.
Raising the second-half energy
The early going of the second half was on track to be a repeat of the first. Each team was missing shots, with the bonus of Boise State committing three turnovers in the first four minutes (after only committing four turnovers total in the first half).
Boise State didn't score their first points until the 16:45 mark and, two minutes later, the Rams were able to cut the deficit to one.
Then Meadow showed up, summoning the Boise State crowd by connecting on two 3-pointers. This spurred the Broncos on, and the lead swelled to 13, with inspired play from Degenhart (an old-fashioned three-point play) and Stanley (a steal and bucket).
The Broncos held Colorado State without a field goal for six minutes but after going up 11 with 5:56 left, took a step back. Their offense was already lackluster once in the half, with low energy and movement. At this point, it was simply some ugly and out of rhythm shots that allowed Colorado State to chip away at the lead.
Colorado State was able to get within four with 1:33 left but the Broncos were able to seal the victory at the charity stripe (hitting 15-20 in the second half).
Point guard Roddie Anderson III drew the assignment of guarding Stevens most of the game, doing a solid job. While Anderson didn't score, and he had some truly errant passes again in the second half, Anderson had a strong game in finishing with eight assists, three steals, and three rebounds.
Stevens finished with 15 points to lead the Rams, committing six turnovers and dishing out three assists.
Nique Clifford added 12 points and collected eight rebounds before fouling out.
Boise State will next put their home winning streak to the test on 1/16 against UNLV. But first, a road meeting with Nevada on Friday (1/12) as the Mountain West Conference gauntlet continues. The Wolf Pack opened conference play with a 15-point win in Fresno and a 13-point win at home over Air Force.
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