[mm-video type=playlist id=01fb7dafw2b08817yr player_id=none image=https://mwwire.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Game Recap: Boise State 79, Air Force 48
Tyson Degenhart helps lead Boise State over Air Force.
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
Boise State secures a double-digit road win in Colorado Springs after close first-half.
Action around the Mountain West was in full swing on Tuesday night. With only New Mexico sitting out the early in the week action. One of those games features a battle of two squads from opposite ends of the conference standings. Title contender Boise State & Air Force, who are fighting to avoid a last place conference finish.
The Falcons looked to not only defend their home court but were looking for their second straight upset. After a 78-77 win over New Mexico in Albuquerque on Saturday, which ended a seven game losing streak. A very real byproduct of competing in today’s elevated Mountain West.
Boise State on the other hand came into this one tied for first place in the Mountain West with Utah State. The Aggies swept the Broncos in their regular season series, but winning the regular season title doesn’t require tiebreakers & such, just the right win-loss record.
Will that conference race be decided in Colorado Springs inside Clune Arena? It’s not likely, but a loss to the Falcons would set the Broncos back with a very difficult stretch of their conference season still ahead of them.
Both teams appeared dialed in defensively, on the flip side both sides also took their time to get going offensively. In the first four minutes of play, Boise State missed all three of their field goal attempts and committed one turnover. While the Falcons missed their first two field goal attempts & committed four turnovers of their own.
The next few minutes was much of the same, as each side logged a few made jumpers to bring things to a whopping 6-5 approaching the ten minute mark in the first-half. A Tyson Degenhart layup & free throw gave the Broncos their largest lead of the game to that point. But Air Force didn’t simply go away, as a Luke Kearney drive to the basket proved the Falcons were not intimidated by Boise State’s size or athleticism.
A Rytis Petraitis three pointer brought the Falcons back to within one point at 11-10. But Boise State kept pounding the paint, handing it off to Degenhart for his second field goal in the paint thus far. Air Force was doing a great job defensively on the perimeter, boasting several guards tall enough to complicate things for the Broncos beyond the arc.
Though as Joe Scott’s squad made their strength apparent early on, so did Boise State. As Leon Rice’s squad received their next eight points from members of their frontcourt, who also generated their own offense down low. After a Cam Martin free throw found the bottom of the net with ease, Boise State was back defending their now six-point lead (18-12) on the other end.
A Rytis Petraitis up and under followed by an Ethan Taylor three pointer and capped off by Luke Kearney’s drive to the basket shrank Boise State’s heavily free throw influenced lead down to just one point (20-19) for a second time.
A defensive stop made by freshman big man Wesley Celichowski on the other end maintained the Falcons’ energy. While Degenhart wasn’t going to be denied points in the paint on two straight possessions. So the next time he received the ball down low he went to work to start a new Bronco run.
Boise State was able to utilize a couple of poor possessions by Celichowski to build their lead before halftime. They didn’t get too far. With a couple more Air Force defensive stops & a redeeming layup by Celichowski on the other end kept things close approaching the two minute mark in the first-half.
Leon Rice’s group would continue to expand their lead, one free throw at a time. While Petraitis kept things to a one game possession with five straight points of his own. Bringing Air Force to within two points of their guests’ 28-26 heading into halftime.
The Falcons utilized a great performance from three-point range (4-10, 40%) to stay competitive in the first twenty minutes. They also found ways to score at all three levels and with only four free throw opportunities. Air Force was led by Petraitis in the first-half, logging a game high 10 points, 5 rebounds & 2 assists while shooting 60% (3-5) from the floor & a perfect 2-2 from deep.
While the Broncos relied heavily on their frontcourt duo of Degenhart & Stanley who combined for half of their team’s 28 points in the first-half. Also relying on free throws (9-11), to offset a horrible shooting performance from deep (1-8, 12.5%). Leading that charge was Chibuzo Agbo, going 4-4 from the charity stripe & contributing 8 points of his own.
Air Force showed just how dangerous & pesky they can be offensively in the first-half. But I was even more impressed by their defensive play on the other end, especially given their disadvantage in the post.
Second Half
Boise State came out strong with four straight points out of halftime. With continued efforts to find points in the paint, Degenhart found himself at the line. Trying to cool off a 4-0 Air Force run.
Boise State’s upped defensive pressure in the second-half made it difficult for Air Force to keep things close after that. As back-to-back Bronco three pointers gave them their biggest lead of the game at 42-30 with about fourteen minutes of play left.
Apparently slow and steady was just the way Leon Rice and company wanted to win this race. Things slowed down and got a tad ticky tacky after that. After a few questionable no calls on a couple of Roddie Anderson III turnovers, the officials went to the monitor.
After that questionable call was ruled a foul on Kellan Boylan, the Broncos would go on a 5-0 run sparked by their bigs down low once again. Part of that run was thanks to a Joe Scott technical, issued after getting a bit chippy with officials. Air Force would find themselves down 18 points (49-31) before some offensive ball movement found Celichowski open just enough to end their scoring drought.
Rytis Petraitis ended his own scoring drought, after going scoreless in the first ten minutes of the second-half. With back-to-back layups that were overshadowed by two three pointers from Agbo to keep the Boise State lead to 20 points (58-38).
Even after a pair of Petraitis free throws, things were not going Air Force’s way. With the Falcons being assessed another technical foul, this time for Ethan Taylor’s frustrations. After another foul would send Boise State back to the line & himself to the bench with five fouls.
Things didn’t change much after that, as Boise State continued to make their money in the paint, at the free throw line & with Agbo’s three pointers to never give their hosts the chance to catch up. No matter how hard Petraitis tried.
Boise State would secure the road W with their 79-48 win over the Falcons in Colorado Springs. It’s the Broncos’ 4th straight victory & 4th straight game they’ve won in double figures. With Leon Rice’s team truly approaching postseason form.
“This is a hard place to win back-to-back games at 7,000 feet,” said head coach Leon Rice. “We went through a lot of guys so we were able to have them fresh, like Roddie came out ready to go in the second half. It was key to beating this team that had some mojo after beating New Mexico.”
It was definitely the tale of two halves for both sides Tuesday night. Boise State turned things around to end the night having shot 48% (24-50) from the floor, a respectable 39.9% (7-18) from deep & a very impressive 88.9% (24-27) from the free throw line.
Air Force ended the night having shot 43.6% (17-39) from the floor, 27.8% (5-18) & just 60% from the free throw line (9-15). They were outgunned in the second-half as Boise State’s true self outscored them 51-22.
It wasn’t the biggest win of the season for Boise State, obviously. But another game where they should have dominated & they did, no matter how they got to that final score.
Player Spotlights
Air Force G–Rytis Petraitis
Stat line: 19 points, 9 rebounds & 3 assists on 5-12 shooting (41.6%) from the floor & 7-8 (87.5%) from the line in 32 minutes of action
Boise State F-Tyson Degenhart
Stat line: 21 points, 5 rebounds, & 2 assists on 6-11 shooting (54.4%) from the floor & 9-10 (90%) from the line in 31 minutes of action
https://twitter.com/BroncoSportsMBB/status/1762672998962663597?t=hsWpIvEHPJEn0riBZ6lfZQ&s=19
Three Takeaways:
- Air Force came in and looked the part of an upset ready team tonight. They used the Bronco’s poor shooting in the first-half to their advantage & actually generated offense all of the floor by several different players. It was a near polar opposite performance on both sides of the ball in the second-half that reiterated why the Falcons are where they are in the conference standings. Air force couldn’t keep things tight enough out of half-time while Boise State seemed to finally turn on their motors.
- Boise State secured their fourth straight win, which have all come by an average margin of 26.7 PPG. Those wins have come against teams from the bottom half of the conference standings. But dishing out absolute beatdowns against that half of the standings is expected, especially come the onset of March. The Falcons definitely gave the Broncos a small scare in the first-half when their shots weren’t really falling, aside from free throws. But they stayed calm and collected en route to another impressive win.
- The Broncos were a different team entirely in the second-half. Not so reliant on layups & free throws to broaden their lead. But making shots from everywhere on the floor. Those adjustments will be crucial & completely required if they hope to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. High caliber teams could take advantage of those poor shooting stretches and bury Boise State if not careful. Their final three games of the regular season against New Mexico, Nevada & San Diego State will be true testaments to how well oiled this Boise State machine is.
Next Up:
The Broncos begin a two game homestand on Saturday when they welcome New Mexico for the second leg of their regular season series. Boise State was one of the few teams, along with the Falcons, to defeat the Lobos inside their fortress the Pit.
Richard Pitino’s group is certainly capable of the revenge win come Saturday & need the win if they hope to stay in contention for a top-3 finish. That game tips off at 6:00 PM MT on March 2nd and can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.
While the Falcons themselves head on the road for a two game stretch away from Clune Arena. They’ll travel west to Logan to attempt another conference upset, this time against No. 22 Utah State.
An Air Force win on the road would help give Boise State a much needed boost in the standings and maintain the Falcons offensive prowess heading into March. That game tips off at 9:00 PM PST on March 1st and can be seen on FS1 as a part of a Mountain West double on Friday night.
Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.