What Happened?
Boise State beat Wichita State 62-59. Drew Fielder led all scorers with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Wichita was led by its main man, Kenyon Giles, who had 15 points while shooting 45% from the field. Two other Broncos were in double figures: Andrew Meadow (15) and Dylan Anderson (10). The Broncos improved their shooting percentage from the last game, going from 33% to 37% from the field and 28% to 41% from 3. Credit to the defense tonight, holding the Shockers to under 60 points. Coming into this game, they were averaging 91 points per game.
This game started like most Bronco games this season: They couldn’t make a bucket. The Broncos started 1-11 from the field and 0-7 from behind the arc. They were open shots that just didn’t fall, and you could feel the nervousness start to creep into the building. Luckily, the defense stood strong to keep the Broncos in the game. Defense led to offense, and that snowballed into a big scoring run that gave the team the lead going into halftime.
The second-half script was almost identical to the one against Montana State on Saturday. The Broncos built a large lead–Saturday it was 11, last night it was 15–but struggled to keep it. Late in the ball game, the Broncos needed a bucket, and the dynamic duo of Dylan Andrews and Drew Fielder came through in the clutch. The game turned into a free-throw contest, and luckily BSU, the Broncos made just enough of them to squeak out a win.
It’s Starting To Come Together
After the horrific loss to start the season, it was easy for all of us to throw in the towel on this team. I know I was deflated and skeptical about the season’s outlook. After tonight, I am 100% back on the bus for an NCAA tournament appearance. The biggest reason is the defense. Since the loss, we are holding teams to an average of 65 points per game, while scoring 78 points per game. There are 4 players averaging more than 10 points a game with Javan, Dylan, Drew, and Andrew. Spencer Ahrens is just under 10ppg with 9.4.
The more these guys play together, the more chemistry is built. Last season, Leon used every game to tinker with his lineups and rotations. This season, he has only changed his starting lineup once, and that was after the first loss of the season. I do think he will make one more change when conference play starts, but only time will tell.
There’s No Place Like Home
Once again, Extra Mile Arena is becoming a fortress for the Broncos. In back-to-back close games, opponents are missing a lot of free throws. The Shockers went 13-19 and Montana St went 6-11. Those missed free throws led the Broncos to pull out the wins in both games. The national free-throw percentage for a team is 78%. In the 4 wins this season, opponents are shooting 63%. If those numbers can hold once conference play rolls around, teams are going to dread coming to the X.
What’s Next?
The Broncos are off for the rest of the week as they prep to fly to Maui to play USC on Monday at 3 pm. This tournament will be a great challenge for the Broncos to see if they are for real. Winning Monday and competing for this trophy will go a long way in overcoming the stain of our first loss this season. I am excited to see Leon and co in their best Tommy Bahamas shirts for this tournament.
