Boise State keeps streak alive, tops Nevada, 74-67

Boise State extended its lengthy winning streak with a seven-point win over Nevada in Reno Wednesday night. Mikey Thompson led the Broncos with 18 points, four assists and three steals. James Webb III (14 points), Anthony Drmic (13 points), and Nick Duncan (11 points) also finished in double figures for Boise State. Chandler Hutchison fell a basket short of a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Marqueze Coleman (17 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists) and D.J. Fenner (15 points) led the Wolf Pack in a strong second-half push. It was the first home loss of the season for first-year head coach Eric Musselman, as Nevada drops to 10-6.

James Webb III led the Broncos out of the gates with nine points and nine rebounds in the first half, with an exclamation point on a one-handed alley-oop throwdown thanks to a beautiful dish by Anthony Drmic. The eye-opening jam energized the Broncos, only allowing one basket in the final 4:42 of the half. Boise's team defense was fantastic in the first period, holding Nevada to 10-30 from the field and led 35-24 at the intermission.

The Wolf Pack weren't ready to call it a night, however. Cameron Oliver and Marqueze Coleman contributed to a quick 8-0 run to cut the Boise State lead to three. The Broncos were able to bounce back, as Nevada pulled within one possession of Boise State for only seven seconds the rest of the night.

With 1:05 left, Nick Duncan drained an uncontested triple early in the shot clock which gave the Broncos a 66-60 lead. It was a high-risk/high-reward decision for Duncan, but he confidently knocked down his third basket from behind the arc. With a miss, Nevada would have had a chance to possibly tie or come within one point on the next possession.

Once again, Boise State caused a scare in the second half after holding a comfortable lead, but the Broncos had enough in the tank to keep the winning streak alive.

Next up for the Broncos is a huge home matchup against San Diego State (11-6, 4-0) for sole position of first place in the conference. Taco Bell Arena expects to have its best crowd of the season on Saturday night. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2, and with a win, the Broncos will have its longest winning streak in school history.