BOISE, Idaho — Boise State overcame a rough first half on Tuesday night and went on to beat Fresno State to win 63-53.
The team tied their season high in turnovers, just in the first half, when they racked up 15 in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Early offensive production was hard to come by for the Broncos.
It took the team almost five minutes to get their first bucket. Even after Boise State got its offense going, they still trailed Fresno State for most of the first half, going into halftime down two points.
Veteran guard Max Rice was responsible for a third of those first-half giveaways. After the game, he took all the responsibility for the way the team turned the ball over.
“I’ll take the blame for that one," Rice explained. "I watched too much Patrick Mahomes this weekend and I was launching it down the court to him, and I gotta be better than that.”
Coming out of the halftime break, Boise State was a different team. They quickly tied up the game when Marcus Shaver Jr pulled up from mid-range. A couple of minutes later, Chibuzo Agbo also scored from the mid-range securing the lead for Boise State.
At halftime, head coach, Leon Rice's message to the team was simple. He reminded his team that regardless of their first-half struggles, they still had another 20 minutes to play.
“We just took some breaths," Rice said. "Regrouped, and my message to them was 'Tell me one game we’ve won in the first half.' None. So, you just gotta move on, flush it, you gotta take a deep breath and get back to being ourselves a little bit better. And that’s what these guys did.”
The Broncos led for the rest of the game. Their ability to fight through adversity is something Rice says shows their maturity.
As the game crept on, multiple Broncos players stepped-up to seal the win. Agbo, who is known for his ability to make difficult shots, hit two back-to-back threes. He says as the game went on, shots started to open up for him and his teammates.
“We’re two really good shooters," Agbo said about himself and Max Rice. "And every team in the conference knows that. So every time they scout us they’re not trying to get any threes off. I think, kind of towards the end of the game,as well, everybody gets tired. You forget the scout a little bit and we just start getting open."
The Broncos play again Saturday evening as they take on Colorado State at Extra Mile Arena. Tip-off is at 6 PM and you can watch the game from home on CBS Sports Network.
