Boise State’s second-half rally comes up short in loss to South Dakota State

Having given an all-out effort, Max Rice’s calves finally gave out.

The redshirt junior had made big shot after big shot to help rally the Boise State men’s basketball team, but his final look as the buzzer sounded was off the mark.

Rice finished with a game-leading 21 points as the Broncos came up short in a 68-66 season-opening loss to South Dakota State on Wednesday at ExtraMile Arena.

“When I rotated, both my calves just tightened up and so I just had to chuck it. I don’t even really remember where the ball went at all,” Rice said. “If my calves didn’t give out, I feel like I would have got a clean look.”

After trailing by as many as 13 points, including spotting the Jackrabbits an 8-0 lead to start the game, Boise State took its first lead of the game at 59-57 after Rice stole the ball and found Marcus Shaver Jr. for a fastbreak layup with 8:43 to play. It was one of Rice’s career-best five steals in the game, and he and Shaver combined for the Broncos’ final 11 points.

“This was a Nov. 9th game that was played at a high level against a great team that knows how to play,” Boise State coach Leon Rice. “This time of year we make a lot of mistakes, and they are the kind of team that exposes those mistakes, even if those mistakes are small ones. But there were a lot of good things out there that I was really pleased with.”

Max Rice hit a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 3:02 left to give the Broncos a 66-64 advantage. He finished 7-for-15 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

“He’s been like that all fall,” Leon Rice said. “He’s played his best basketball all fall, but I didn’t know we’d see that. That was pretty impressive.”

The Broncos (0-1) had a chance to take the lead when Shaver was fouled with 23.3 seconds left and the score tied at 66-all. But Shaver missed both freebies, and the Jackrabbits (1-1) picked up the game-winning layup on the other end, leaving 1.3 seconds on the clock for the final look.

“I’d want Shaver shooting those free throws 100 out of 100 times,” Leon Rice said. “He’s gonna win us a lot of games. And whether it was his leg or whatever it was that he was dealing with that affected the free throws. In my mind, those two free throws were already made, I was on to the next defensive possession.”

In addition to cramping from fatigue, the Broncos had to overcome the loss of Texas Tech transfer Chibuzo Agbo, who was limited to just 10 minutes and fouled out with 7:42 remaining in the game. And Boise State assistant coach Mike Burns was whistled for a technical foul for pointing at the replay screen after a foul call on sophomore Tyson Degenhart with 4:16 to go in the first half.

The technical resulted in a four-point swing for the Jackrabbits that turned a 29-21 lead into a 12-point advantage.

“That doesn’t lose us the game,” Leon Rice said. “Sometimes that gets your guys going, really.”

Shaver joined Max Rice in double-digit scoring with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Degenhart and redshirt senior Naje Smith added 12 points apiece. Ten Broncos in all logged playing time, including true freshman Jace Whiting, who contributed two points, four rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.

Whiting was part of a smaller Boise State lineup alongside Shaver, Max Rice, Degenhart and Smith that sparked an 11-2 run that resulted in the Broncos’ first lead of the game.

“I think this team has a really, really high ceiling,” Leon Rice said. “… (Former Boise State football coach Chris Petersen) said it, your talent is your floor and your character is your ceiling. And this team has the highest character, from top to bottom.

“I have a ton of belief in them. When you have a group of guys like that, you’ll get them better. They’ll take coaching. They’ll help each other. They’ll get better every night we play. And we have to. We’re out of the frying pan into the fire on Saturday.”

The Broncos play a neutral-site game against Washington State (1-0) on Saturday. Tipoff is 5 p.m. at Idaho Central Arena in Boise. Boise State defeated the Cougars 58-52 at Spokane Arena last season in Spokane, Washington.

Broncos sign California product

The Broncos signed Andrew Meadow of West Ranch High in Stevenson Ranch, California.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward announced his verbal commitment to the Broncos in August after a junior campaign in which he averaged 21 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for the Wildcats.

Meadow, who is one of the top-ranked recruits in Southern California, is rated as a three-star prospect according to 247Sports.

“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was little to sign to a college to play the game I love,” Meadow said in a press release. “I want to thank everybody who has helped me along the way. I’m beyond excited to officially become a Bronco. Boise State’s program and system fit me perfectly, and I can’t wait to get started.”

S. DAKOTA ST. 68, BOISE ST. 66

South Dakota St.: Dentlinger 7-11 4-5 19, Kyle 5-6 1-3 11, Arians 2-7 7-9 11, Easley 1-3 0-0 3, Mayo 4-12 2-2 13, Mims 1-2 1-2 4, Mors 1-3 2-2 4, Te Slaa 1-1 0-0 3, Lien 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 17-23 68.

Boise St.: Degenhart 5-11 2-2 12, Milner 0-3 0-1 0, Agbo 0-3 0-0 0, M.Rice 7-15 3-3 21, Shaver 6-12 5-8 17, N.Smith 6-8 0-0 12, Whiting 1-1 0-0 2, NgaNga 0-1 2-2 2, Sylla 0-0 0-0 0, Young 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 12-16 66.

Halftime—S. Dakota St. 36-31.3-Point Goals—S. Dakota St. 7-18 (Mayo 3-8, Dentlinger 1-1, Easley 1-1, Te Slaa 1-1, Mims 1-2, Lien 0-1, Arians 0-2, Mors 0-2), Boise St. 4-19 (M.Rice 4-8, NgaNga 0-1, N.Smith 0-1, Agbo 0-2, Shaver 0-3, Degenhart 0-4).Fouled Out—Agbo.Rebounds—S. Dakota St. 23 (Arians 6), Boise St. 29 (Shaver 6).Assists—S. Dakota St. 10 (Arians 4), Boise St. 8 (Shaver 5).Total Fouls—S. Dakota St. 15, Boise St. 17.A—9,796 (12,480).