What head coach Leon Rice said after Boise State’s loss to Boston College in Cayman Islands Classic finals

Broncos fell on last-second shot, 63-61

Boise State Broncos forward O'Mar Stanley. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Boise State men’s basketball team was seconds away from securing the Cayman Islands Classic title, but Joshua Beadle hit a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining that put Boston College in front for good. 

The Eagles (6-1) defeated the Broncos (5-2) in Tuesday’s tournament final in George Town, Cayman Islands, 63-61.

“It was a heck of a tournament for our guys,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said during his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to learn a lot. There’s a lot we need to get better at. One of them is the rotations; we’re still figuring that out.”

For the second straight game, junior forward Javan Buchanan came off the bench to lead Boise State with 24 points. Buchanan, a transfer from Indiana Wesleyan, scored 28 points in an 83-82 semifinal win over South Dakota State. 

Boise State has the rest of the week off before returning to action Tuesday, Dec. 3 against Utah Tech (2-6). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain time at ExtraMile Arena.

Here are the highlights from Rice’s postgame interview. 

On the last defensive possession

“We didn’t want them to get to the paint, and we switched everything. They were 1 for 11 from 3 before that. (Beadle) made a nice step-back jumper from 3 to beat us. When he let it go, I didn’t think it was going to be good. And then, it just splashed. And I was trying to get a timeout, we were yelling. I guess I should’ve ran to the floor, the refs aren’t looking at me. What I wanted was for us to advance it with two seconds and call timeout, but it was too chaotic and the refs couldn’t hear us. With two seconds, it’s going to be a tough shot anyway.”

On the success of Javan Buchanan, potential lineup changes

“What is he? He’s one through five. He can score inside, he can score outside. He can handle the ball, he can play point. We’re going to use him more. Obviously, we used him a lot the last two games, but we’re going to adjust. That’s what November is for. Especially when you have eight new guys, the starting lineup and the parts that were all together at the start are probably going to be a lot different next month, and the month after that. There’s going to be growth from individuals. I’ll do better, our staff will do better. You have to get to know each other and know how they all fit together where they are at their best. And we’re doing some great stuff … but I know we can keep making them better.”