Boise State falls to Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

BOISE, Idaho — The Boise State Broncos lost to Memphis 64-53 in the first round of the West Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

Boise State, an eight seed, had a rough first half as Memphis went on a 26-7 run to finish the half giving the Tigers, a nine seed, a 38-19 halftime lead.

That marked the biggest deficit of the year for Boise State who still had plenty of fight, a furious second-half comeback had the Broncos within five but they were never able to get over the hump.

Abu Kigab in his final game as a Bronco scored 20 points all of those coming in the second half, at one point, Kigab scored 14 straight points for BSU during the second-half comeback attempt.

In the end, the Memphis Tigers were too athletic as Boise State struggled to get open shots in the halfcourt, Memphis outrebounded BSU 39-30 and they outscored the Broncos in the paint.

The Mountain West has had a rough showing in the tournament with Wyoming losing to Indiana in the play-in game, Colorado State lost to Michigan Thursday morning and now the Broncos season comes to an end, San Diego State plays Creighton later today.

Boise State still had one of their best seasons in school history as the Broncos won the Mountain West regular-season title outright for the first time, they won the conference tournament for the first time, they set a school record with 27 wins, but they weren't able to win their first NCAA Tournament game.

The Treasure Valley still has a team playing in March, however, as the College of Idaho defeated Grace 71-66 in the round of 16 at the NAIA National Championships in Kansas City.

The Yotes will play in the round of eight on Saturday against the winner of Faulkner and Loyola.