It will not go down as the flashiest of victories but the Broncos (2-1) took care of business, defeating the Corban Warriors 100-65.
Against the Warriors, who play their ball in the NAIA, Boise State had every reason to go into this game on cruise control. There were hiccups (say "hey", too many turnovers) but the Broncos were efficient in extending their home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 14 games.
Almost a week after opening the season with a rout at home against Oakland, Boise State enjoyed the cozy confines of ExtraMile Arena. Six players reached double figures for Boise State and 10 of 11 Broncos who played found the scoring column.
Javan Buchanan had a team-high 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting. O'Mar Stanley finished with a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds) plus four blocked shots. Dylan Anderson (14), Emmanuel Ugbo (13), Tyson Degenhart (11), and Andrew Meadow (11) also reached double figures.
The Broncos finished with a 61.9 percent clip from the field but were only 4 of 13 on three-point attempts. With a distinct size advantage, Boise State collected 45 rebounds (to Corban's 24) and seven blocked shots, though the team finished with 12 turnovers.
Corban was respectable in the turnover department with 14 and shot 39.7 percent from the field. Spivey Word led the Warriors with a game-high 32 points.
First half
Boise State had to work through some issues early despite hitting 6 of 7 to shots to open the game. Two ties and seven lead changes happened in the first eight minutes or so before the Broncos settled in.
Slowly the Broncos extended out their lead thanks to a balanced attack and contributions across the board. Plus, it helped that after four turnovers in the game's first seven minutes, Boise State only had one more in the rest of the half.
The lead reached 21 just before halftime when freshman Julian Bowie (six points, five assists) hit a short pull-up jumper. This put Boise State up 50-29, ultimately the score at halftime.
Degenhart hit all four of his field goal attempts and had nine points at halftime. Seven players had an assist in the half and three Broncos had three or more rebounds.
Broncos weather Word
Word started the second half locked in for the Warriors. He scored 16 of Corban's first 19 points and the Warriors even got the lead down 17 on multiple occasions.
Despite Word's best efforts, the Broncos clamped down and again slowly extended the lead. The combination of Anderson, Meadow, Buchanan, and Ugbo combined for 38 points in the second half.
Buchanan put an exclamation on the night's festivities with a thunderous dunk to get Boise State to the 100-point mark for the first time this season.
Ugbo finished with eight rebounds and nine different Broncos had an assist.
Alvaro Cardenas and RJ Keene II each had three steals.
Up next: Clemson Tigers
The non-conference home winning streak will be tested when the Clemson Tigers come to Boise on Sunday.
The two teams met up last season, where the Tigers took down the Broncos, 85-68. That matchup was close for 20 minutes and Boise State even tied the game early in the second half. But the Broncos went cold, and Clemson won going away.
Boise State, of the 68 points scored in that game, only returns players who scored 22 of them. Stanley had 11 off the bench and Degenhart scored seven, with Keene contributing four.
The main difference in that game was cold-shooting and a big rebounding advantage (+15) for the Tigers. Clemson shot 50.8 percent from the field and 53.3 from deep, while Boise State landed at 39.3 and 30.4, respectively.
Clemson (3-0) is coming off a 24-12 season in which they reached the Elite 8. The Tigers defeated New Mexico, Baylor, and Arizona before they ultimately fell to Alabama.
The Tigers also won on Tuesday night, defeating Eastern Kentucky 75-62. Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin are the top two returning players for Clemson. Hunter is the team's leading scorer and had 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists last season against the Broncos.
Schieffelin was in some foul trouble in last year's game and finished with five points and nine rebounds. This season, he has 37 points and 31 rebounds in three games.
Another player to keep an eye on is Viktor Lahkin, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the victory over EKU.
In the ACC preseason poll, the Tigers were picked to finish fourth out of 18 teams. A win Sunday on a national stage would take a little sting off the road loss to an exceptionally decent San Francisco team. Tip-off is set for 11:30 (MT) on CBS Sports Network.
image credit: Flickr
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