Rice Hits Century Mark, Broncos Down Spartans

Rob Heyer led the Broncos with 15 points as Boise State handled the Spartans 68-51.  The Broncos dominated the first half jumping out to a 17-point lead, then played back and forth with San Jose State in the second half, allowing the backups to play some minutes.

The big story of this game was Leon Rice earning his 100th win as a head coach.  Rice, who had spent many years as an assistant coach at Oregon, Northern Colorado, Yakima Valley Community College and most recently, Gonzaga, got his first true opportunity as a head coach when Boise State approached him in 2010.  Five seasons later, he earned his 100th win last night, keeping the Broncos in first and holding the tie-breaker for the tournament next week.

Derrick Marks had 13 points and 5 rebounds for Boise State and James Webb III contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds of his own.  For the Spartans, Rashad Muhammad was his usual self last night, scoring 17 points and 6 rebounds, assisted by Jaleel Williams with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Boise State goes home to face Fresno State on Saturday, while the Spartans host UNLV to close out the season.