After eking out a victory over a five-win Fresno State squad last Saturday, Boise State was much better on Tuesday night against the four-win Air Force Falcons. The Broncos led much of the game in defeating the Falcons 80-57.
Boise State (22-8, 14-5) won their fifth straight game and are winners in nine of their last ten. The hot streak is perfect timing, with only one regular season game left on the docket. Plus, with big wins over New Mexico and Utah State, the Broncos have firmly moved into the NCAA tournament discussion yet again.
In the victory over Air Force (4-26, 1-18), five players scored in double figures for the Broncos. Freshman Pearson Carmichael and sophomore Andrew Meadow shared team honors with 14 points each. Alvaro Cardenas scored 13 points to go along with five rebounds and six assists.
Senior Tyson Degenhart, in pursuit of the school all-time scoring record, scored 11 while O'Mar Stanley continued his recent strong play with 10.
In picking up the 23-point victory, Boise State was respectable in all facets (except for three-pointers in a 6 of 25 effort). The Broncos committed only five turnovers, went 24 of 31 at the charity stripe, and finished with 41 rebounds (to Air Force's 32).
RJ Keene collected a game-high 10 boards, with Carmichael adding seven and Javan Buchanan finishing with six.
Slow start, fast finish
Shades of the game against Fresno State did creep in during the early minutes against Air Force. Beau Becker provided an early 6-0 lead for the Falcons. Boise State missed its first three shots and did not score until a basket by Meadow with 16:57 left in the half.
Boise State started 1 of 6 from the field and was down 8-2. Then, the game came undone for Air Force.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Meadow, three straight Air Force turnovers, and baskets from Carmicheal and Degenhart were part of an 18-3 run by Boise State. Capping this run was an old-fashioned three-point play from Carmichael, giving the Broncos a 21-11 lead.
Despite foul trouble, with Degenhart picking up his second with six minutes left and Stanley his third seconds later, Boise State continued to build out there lead. The Broncos used an 11-2 run to close out the first half and take a 38-21 lead into the locker room.
Meadow had 11 first-half points, with Carmichael and Cardenas each scoring eight.
Becker led Air Force with six, while Chase Beasley added four points and eight rebounds.
High level cruise control in second half
Air Force never got going in the second half. Boise State never let the Falcons get closer than 15 points, and that was at the 17:08 mark.
Getting to the free throw line often helped, as did the usual passing of Cardenas. Degenhart also got going, scoring eight of his points after halftime.
Boise State finished strong around the rim, with Keene, Carmichael, and Stanley all finishing three-point plays. Two Cardenas free throws, capping a 17-2 run, put the Broncos up 60-30 with just under 14 minutes left to play.
The lead swelled to 78-43 after two free throws by Stanley with 4:57 left on the clock. The Air Force bench did show life, outscoring Boise State 14-2 the rest of the way, but it was far too little, too late.
Chris Lockett Jr. had a nice second half, scoring seven points for Boise State. Buchanan finished with six, and Keene added five to complete the Boise State scoring.
Ethan Taylor finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and five assists to lead Air Force.
Boise State finishes up the regular season on Friday night, hosting the Colorado State Rams (21-9, 15-4). The Rams defeated the Broncos 75-72 in the team's first meeting. Seeding implications for the Mountain West tournament will be on the line. While Boise State cannot win the conference, the Broncos could still finish anywhere from second to fifth place.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (MT) at ExtraMile Arena and the game will broadcast on FS1.
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