‘Our guys are just so tough;’ What Boise State’s Leon Rice said after MWC Tournament semifinal win over New Mexico

Broncos roar back to defeat Lobos, 72-69

Boise State Broncos head coach Leon Rice. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Boise State men’s basketball team overcame a halftime deficit for the second straight game Friday night at the Mountain West Tournament. 

With top-seeded New Mexico leading 34-28 at the break, the fifth-seeded Broncos rallied back to secure a 72-69 semifinal victory at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. 

“Our guys are just so tough,” Boise State (24-9) head coach Leon Rice said after the game. “Because a lot of things went wrong. We had foul trouble … and we just had to juggle things and find a way. And the best quality these guys have is they find a way.”

Needing 18 points to break the Boise State career scoring record, senior forward Tyson Degenhart finished with 22 points and four rebounds. Degenhart (1,949 points) surpassed Tanoka Beard’s mark of 1,944 points midway through the second half. 

Emmanuel Ugbo came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points while also tallying five rebounds and three blocks. Andrew Meadow added 16 points and Alvaro Cardenas dished out 12 assists. 

New Mexico’s (26-7) Donovan Dent, the MWC Player of the Year, had 23 points and five assists. 

In Thursday’s 62-52 quarterfinal victory over No. 4 San Diego State, the Broncos won the second half 34-19 after trailing by five at halftime. Boise State, an NCAA Tournament bubble team, out-scored the Lobos 44-35 over the final 20 minutes to punch its ticket to Saturday’s MWC Tournament title game. 

Here are the highlights from Rice’s postgame press conference. 

On overcoming adversity

“Every team goes through a Valley of Death. Sometimes the valley can be longer, sometimes you can’t control it. Sometimes guys hit shots and things happen over a basketball season. To be able to learn and develop that backbone and that toughness, it’s just how you respond, it’s how you respond. It’s our culture.”

On Emmanuel Ugbo’s big game

“He did it on both ends, he did it when we needed it most. He played himself through a couple mistakes because he was a little sped-up in that first half, and he wanted to contribute so bad. He’s such a positive energy guy for us, so the whole team couldn’t be happier for a guy like that.”

On defending Donovan Dent

“He’s just one of the best point guards in the country. You can’t guard him with one guy, you’ve got to guard him with a team, and sometimes that’s not enough. He’s a heck of a player and has had a great career there and is certainly deserving of all the awards and accolades he gets. You love competing against guys like that, and we love these kinds of games.”

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