Playing in the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament, Boise State (25-10) won going away, defeating the George Washington Revolutionaries 89-59.
Nine of the ten players who saw action for the Broncos found the scoring column. Five reached double figures, led by senior Tyson Degenhart. Degenhart scored a game-high 19 on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, including a perfect 3 for 3 from deep.
Pearson Carmichael and Andrew Meadow each scored 15, with Javan Buchanan adding 11 and Julian Bowie 10.
Boise State hit only 1 of 11 in the game's first 8+ minutes but finished at exactly 50 percent from the field. The Broncos knocked down 60.5 percent in the second half, including an impressive 6 of 12 from three-point range.
Strong defense was on full display, too. The Broncos forced 22 turnovers, 16 of which were steals. Carmichael had six steals, with Degenhart and Alvaro Cardenas each swiping three.
Cardenas had six assists and committed four of Boise State's nine turnovers. The Broncos also won the battles on the boards, 41 to 30. Four players collected five or more boards, led by six from O'Mar Stanley
George Washington (21-13) shot a respectable 41.7 percent from the field, but the turnovers doomed the Revolutionaries in the second half. Trey Autry finished with a team-high 16 points.
With the victory, Boise State advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday (4/2), where the Broncos face the Butler Bulldogs. Butler defeated the Utah Utes on Monday, winning 86-84 on a game-winning shot with seconds remaining.
The Broncos and Bulldogs met in 2023, where Butler picked up the victory, winning 70-56.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
Cold start for both teams
Rust was evident for both teams in the game's first 10 minutes. George Washington jumped out to a 5-0 lead and the Broncos missed their first four shots, all three-point attempts. The score stayed the same until Emmanuel Ugbo's jump hook got Boise State on the scoreboard with 16:10 left.
A field goal drought hampered both teams and the score was 9-3 with 11:47 left in the half. Each team had three turnovers at that point and shot a combined 4 for 21 from the field.
Boise State woke up, starting with a three-pointer by Meadow. Buckets by Degenhart and Buchanan closed out a 7-0 run, giving the Broncos their first lead at 10-9.
The teams exchanged ties and leads but a Degenhart three-pointer with 4:56 left in the half broke a 16-all tie. It was a lead the Broncos would never relinquish, growing the lead to seven and taking a 32-26 lead at halftime.
Buchanan had eight points in the first half. RJ Keene II had an assist on four straight possessions at one point in the half.
Boise State Broncos rise in second half
The Broncos dialed up more defense in the second half, forcing two turnovers right off the bat. Carmichael also took over in the first seven minutes of the half.
The freshman, held scoreless in the first half, scored 11 of Boise State's 19 points during that span, with easy layups after steals, a three-pointer, and free throws all mixed in.
George Washington held tough in the first five minutes of the half, trailing 43-40 with 15 minutes left in the game. But the buckets cane easier for Boise State, scoring off pick and rolls and three-pointers with ease. Boise State rattled off a 15-4 run, which grew into an extended run of 25-7 and the game was put out of reach.
Fast break points (18) and points off turnovers (27) were two key areas Boise State excelled. Two areas not seen a whole lot of in 2024-25.
Keene had another game filling the stat sheet, finishing with seven points, five rebounds, and five assists. Ugbo scored six and Stanley rounded out the scoring for the Broncos, finishing with a single point.
Rafael Castro and Ty Bevins scored 11 apiece for the Revolutionaries.
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