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Boise State Wins First Game Of Season Decided By 5 Points Or Less
The Broncos overcame a slow start to beat the Rams
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Colorado State couldn’t buy a bucket during the game.
The Boise State Broncos survived a late push from Colorado State to earn their fifth conference win of the season. Boise started slow but pushed hard to take a lead into halftime and survive the late Rams surge.
Boise State shot 57.8% from the field for the game, including 60% in the second half. The Broncos took less shots than the Rams, but they made their shots count as they shot 14.3% better from the field than the Rams. The Broncos also survived 14 turnovers.
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The big difference in the game was free throws, as Boise won by two points and made more free throws than CSU attempted. One thing Boise will have to watch going forward is their bench scoring, as they were outscored 18-4 in bench points.
Boise State was led by Justinian Jessup as he led all scorers with 20 points. Jessup also had six assists and five rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Alex Hobbs (17 points, four assists, four rebounds), Derrick Alston (14 points, four rebounds), and Marcus Dickinson (12 points, four rebounds).
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Colorado State was undefeated at home prior to this game. And they looked like they would be continuing that trend early in the first half as the Rams jumped out to a 10 point lead eight and half minutes into the first half. Then, the lid got put on the rim. CSU had a number of good looks and couldn’t connect. The Rams made a late push, but it was too little, too late.
The Rams leading scorer on the day was Kris Martin, who has grown into a better overall basketball player as the season has gone on. Martin had 13 points on the day.
He was joined in double figures by J.D. Paige (12 points), Nico Carvacho (12 points), and Anthony Masinton-Bonner (11 points). Both Paige (seven assists, seven rebounds) and Carvacho (16 rebounds, six assists) flirted with triple doubles.
Next up for the Broncos is a road trip to Reno on Saturday. While the Rams will take the trip south to Colorado Springs on Saturday.
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