No. 1 New Mexico vs. No. 5 Boise State
Kicking off Day 3 in Las Vegas, the No. 5-seeded Boise State Broncos took on the No. 1-seeded New Mexico Lobos. The teams split the regular season matchup, each protecting their home floors. On Friday, Boise State upset New Mexico, 72-69.
The Lobos controlled the opening tip, and it was full steam ahead. The Lobos opened with a 3-point shot from Mustapha Amzil, followed by a finish from Nelly Junior Joseph and a free-throw shot to complete the three-point play.
The Broncos kept things close. An 8-0 run around the halfway mark of the first forced New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino to call a timeout.
The Broncos limited Lobos guard Donovan Dent to five points, shooting 2 of 7 in the first. Joseph had 10 points in the first half, which led the Lobos in scoring.
Every time the 6-foot-10 senior touched the ball, the Thomas and Mack Center, or “Pit West,” as Pitino called it, erupted with excitement.
In the second half, the Broncos kept it close. Tyson Degenhart took over for the Broncos. The senior guard, along with O’Mar Stanley and Emmanuel Ugbo, were all in foul trouble down the stretch of the game with four fouls each.
Andrew Meadow hit a clutch three-point shot with 48 seconds left in the game to give the Broncos a 68-66 lead. Meadow shot 1 of 9 before hitting one of the game’s biggest shots.
An empty offensive sequence followed by a defensive blunder by the Lobos saw Meadows sneak behind the defense downcourt and get the two-handed dunk, holding a 70-66 lead for the Broncos.
On the next possession, Dent drove the ball and was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line where he made 1 for 2 shots, and Pitino used a timeout.
It was free-throw time inside Thomas and Mack as time winded down. Degenhart shot 2 for 4 in his final free-throw attempts, giving the Lobos the final possession down three points.
Dent calmly dribbled the ball up the court and got his screen as he moved to the left elbow, where he shot the 3-point attempt coming up short, and the Broncos secured the three-point win, advancing to the championship game on Saturday.
Dent stayed in the same spot where he shot the ball, hunched over, hands on his knees, looking down at his shoes. The guard stayed there for a few minutes until he straightened up and walked to the handshake line with a hysterical smile.
Degenhart led the Broncos in scoring with 22 points and, along with the victory, became the Broncos’ all-time leading scoring.
“The World gets to see what I see, and what I see is a bunch of guys that are just built differently, as far as they can face adversity, they face adversity and they don’t fold,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said postgame.
“We have three guys with four fouls. Just couldn’t really get in a good flow, a good groove, and we just keep trying to find a way and find a way. You know, just stay in the moment and make the big plays in the moment.
The Broncos get the upset win, which could certainly help their at-large bid opportunity for the NCAA Tournament if things don’t work out so well in the championship game.
No. 2 Colorado State vs. No. 3 Utah State
Closing the night out in another edition of Mountain West hoops after dark, the Colorado State Rams took on the Utah State Aggies. The Rams knocked off Utah State, 83-72, to advance to the conference tournament championship game.
From the opening tip, the Rams controlled the game. The Rams started 4 of 4 from the field and kept their foot on the gas throughout the first half.
Jalen Lake scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting as the Rams took a 49-30 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Rams were up by 28 at one point. They continued the excellent shooting night for Colorado State continued, especially for Nique Clifford. Clifford finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3 for 4 from 3-point range.
Utah State made the game interesting in the second half, though. The Aggies fought and made it an eight-point game in the blink of an eye.
Mason Falslev scored 22 points and seven rebounds, but foul trouble and fight a little too late, it wasn’t enough for Utah State, and the Rams got the win.
The Rams shot 60% shooting from field and a stellar 56% shooting from 3-point range.
“I mean our guys really came ready to play today. They just had an unbelievable mindset, and they were aggressive on both sides of the floor,” Colorado State head coach Niko Medved said postgame.
“They were flying around, and they just had the mentality you have to have this time of year to find a way to win.”
The win by Colorado State sets up the Mountain West Championship game between the No. 5-seeded Boise State Broncos and the No. 2-seeded Colorado State.
Both are bubble teams that have strong cases for the NCAA Tournament selection committee on why they belong in the tournament. The winner guarantees their ticket is punched, and the loser could be nervously watching on Sunday.
