BOISE, Idaho — Colorado State defeated Boise State 83-73 in the final game of the regular season, thanks to a 36-point performance by Rams Nique Clifford.
The Broncos had an opportunity to get the two seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, but the loss drops them to the four or five seed depending on how Saturday shakes out.
Either way, BSU will face San Diego State on Thursday at 2:30 Mountain Time in the tournament in Las Vegas. San Diego State defeated Boise State in both games during the regular season, and the Broncos will need to make a run to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament.
“We really appreciate the people in Boise; they really showed out today. The environment was great, and I'm sad that we couldn’t get a win in our last game, but we are not done yet," said senior Alvaro Cardenas. "I think the whole locker room believes that."
The first half featured eight lead changes, which culminated in a buzzer-beating tip-in by Emmanuel Ugbo to tie the score at 34 apiece at the half.
Boise State brought that momentum into the second half with a 10-2 run sparked by their defense. The crowd came alive during this stretch, and it looked like Boise State was on the verge of taking a commanding lead.
However, Nique Clifford put the Rams on his back, scoring 15 of the Colorado State's first 17 second half points. In the game, Clifford scored 36 on 13/18 shooting to ruin senior night at Extra Mile Arena.
"He was special. We [were] guarding him pretty good, and he just wouldn’t miss," said head coach Leon Rice. "We even guarded him on a three and fouled him, and he made it. He was cooking, and he looked like a lottery pick tonight."
Boise State was led by Andrew Meadow who scored 22 points. Meadow hit back-to-back threes to give the Broncos a seven-point lead with 11:30 left in the game, but Boise State would only get three buckets the rest of the way.
Tyson Degenhart played in his final home game, bringing a historic career at Boise State to an end. Degenhart scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but he could get up six shots as the senior faced constant double teams throughout the evening.
The season will start over with the Mountain West Conference Tournament, but it has gotten harder. A win would have secured the two seed, but now, The Broncos will have to face San Diego State, and they have New Mexico on their side of the bracket.
