Hutchison leads Boise State to blowout victory in opener

Boise State pounded Northwest Christian (NAIA) 85-46 at Taco Bell Arena Saturday afternoon in the first game of the regular season.

Chandler Hutchison led the Broncos with 23 points, while freshmen guards Alex Hobbs (11 points) and Justinian Jessup (10 points) also finished in double figures. Hutchison was extremely efficient in the opener, knocking down nine of his 10 field goal attempts, both of his three point attempts and also added 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

After much speculation, head coach Leon Rice decided to start Nick Duncan, David Wacker, James Reid, Justinian Jessup and Chandler Hutchison, and it appears it will be his starting five moving forward. BSU lost a number of key players from last year’s team, including James Webb III, Anthony Drmic and Mikey Thompson, and have a challenging slate moving forward.

Next up for Boise State is the Charleston Classic in South Carolina, beginning on Thursday. The Broncos are scheduled to play Charleston, the tournament host, in the first game, and will play Mississippi State/UCF on Friday, and then Western Michigan/Villanova/Wake Forest/UTEP on Sunday. BSU will then return home to face Presbyterian before heading back on the road.