3/11/2022 basketball Edit

Broncos close out Wolfpack, advance in MW Championships

Matt Brumley

broncosports.com

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Three Broncos scored in double-figures as top-seeded Boise State held off eighth-seeded Nevada Thursday, in quarterfinal action at the 2022 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Championship. The Broncos earned a 71-69 win, advancing to the semifinal round for the second time in the last three years.

The Boise State men’s basketball team, the No. 1 seed in the 2022 Air Force Reserve MW Men’s Basketball Championship, defeated No. 8 seed Nevada, 71-69, Thursday…the Broncos improved to 25-7 on the season, while the Wolf Pack dropped to 13-18. (Boise State Athletic)

The win is the 25th of the season for the Broncos, tying the program record. Boise State previously won 25 games in 2007-08 and 2014-15.

Nevada (13-18, 6-12 MW) made nine of its first 11 shots and took advantage of five Boise State (25-7, 16-3 MW) turnovers to build a 22-15 lead in the first eight minutes of the game.

With the Broncos down eight, Emmanuel Akot connected from deep to spark a 14-0 run as Boise State roared back to take its first lead of the game, 34-28, with 4:34 remaining in the period. Akot scored eight of his 14 first half points during the run and finished the period shooting 3-of-4 from downtown. Boise State outscored Nevada 18-5 over the final 8:50 of the first half to head into the locker room up 38-33. The Broncos ended the period shooting 60.0 percent from the floor and found scoring from seven different players.

Emmanuel Akot scored a team-high 22 points, his fifth time this season leading the team in scoring…third 20-point game this season…highest scoring output since putting up 23 points against Nevada, Jan. 12…had reached double figures by halftime, scoring a game-high 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range…finished the game going 8-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc…was his 15th game of the season in double figures, but just his second since the start of February…the Broncos are 12-3 when Akot scores 10-or-more. (Boise State Athletics)

In the second half the Broncos used an 8-0 run to grab its largest lead of the night, 58-46, with just over 11 minutes to play. Marcus Shaver, Jr. hit four of his nine free throws during the run, and finished the night with 15 points - including a 9-for-10 performance from the charity stripe - a game-high eight rebounds and four assists.

The Wolf Pack retaliated with a 15-6 run across four-and-a-half minutes to cut the lead to three, 67-64, with four minutes left to play. Nevada’s Desmond Cambridge, Jr. scored a second-chance layup with 1:31 left on the clock to reduce the deficit 71-69. After a Boise State miss with 15 seconds left, the Wolf Pack took the ball to the other end and found an open look from three that missed long, and after chasing down the rebound, the Broncos dribbled out the clock to secure the victory.

Boise State finished the night 26-of-52 from the floor (.500), the team’s sixth time in the last seven games shooting 50 percent or better, and the fifth time shooting at least 50 percent in a Mountain West tournament game.

Marcus Shaver, Jr. scored 15 points, his 26th game in double figures and his 10th-straight game with at least 10 points…he was 9-of-10 from the free throw line…Shaver, Jr. pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, tying his season high. (Boise State Athletics)

Akot finished the night with a team-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the arc. It is the guard’s third 20-point performance of the season and his first since scoring 23 at Nevada (Jan. 12). In six career games against Nevada, Akot has averaged 18.0 points per game shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from deep.

Abu Kigab was the third Bronco in double-figures, scoring 11 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds. His six assists are the most by a Bronco in MW tournament play. Boise State dished out 17 assists on the night, the most since totaling 18 at Air Force (Feb. 16).

The win was the Broncos’ first at the MW Tournament since March 5, 2020, when Boise State knocked off UNLV in a quarterfinal matchup. The Broncos have now reached the semifinal four times since joining the league.

Boise State awaits the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between fourth-seeded Wyoming and fifth-seeded UNLV. Friday’s semifinal tips off at 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT and will be nationally broadcast on CBS Sports Network.