Give a ton of credit to Tim Miles and the Spartans.

They will be a bubble-buster throughout Mountain West play.

Alas.

When you are facing a squad that has someone as cold-blooded as Marcus Shaver Jr., all that effort can be for naught.

Key Teams Stats of the Night

Field Goal Percentage

Boise State - 42.2%

San Jose State - 45.0%

Three-Point Percentage

Boise State - 30.4%

San Jose State - 19.0%

Turnovers

Boise State - 8

San Jose State - 13

Stat Leaders

Points

Chibuzo Agbo (BSU) - 15 points

Omari Moore (SJSU) - 22 points

Rebounds

Naje Smith (BSU) - 7 rebounds

Omari Moore (SJSU) - 7 rebounds

Assists

Max Rice (BSU) - 3 assists

Omari Moore (SJSU) - 6 assists

Story of the Game

The Broncos overcame a slow start at ExtraMile Arena, finding their first lead of the game at the 15:09 mark. Boise State would keep the Spartans at bay throughout the entirety of the first half, going up as much as 12 before the halftime buzzer sounded.

It appeared that the Broncos were on the verge of breaking the game wide open in the opening stages of the second half, but Spartan guard Omari Moore managed to hit a timely shot again and again to keep San Jose State in the fight. Over the span of 12 minutes, the duo of Moore and Alvaro Cardenas scored 21 points to bring the game to within one possession.

As the game reached its finale, Spartan big man Robert Vaihola converted a bucket off of an assist by Cardenas to put San Jose State up one with 1:12 remaining. Bronco Tyson Degenhart was put on the foul line the following possession, but he was only able to tie the game up at 64, missing his second free throw. Boise State displayed some tremendous defense down the stretch, preventing the Spartans from going ahead. Leon Rice took a timeout to calm his group and, during the course of that timeout, asked Marcus Shaver Jr. if he was healthy enough to take the last shot considering he hurt his ankle earlier in the game.

There was no trepidation.

It was a crystal clear yes.

Shaver Jr. dribbled to the right wing beyond the three-point line as the rest of the Broncos on the court spaced the floor to let Shaver get to work.

One on one, the defender on an island.

A crossover, followed by a step-back that had Spartan leader Omari Moore stumbling back gave Shaver Jr. all the room he needed to square up and shoot with the basket dead in his sights.

Nothing but net.

Shaver Jr. raised his arms in triumph as this was his first game-winning shot at ExtraMile Arena. (Amazing, right?)

He has been a road warrior, but he got the chance to be a home defender.

A desperation pass at the end nearly gave the Spartans a shot at tying the game, but the release was after the buzzer.

FINAL

BOISE STATE BRONCOS (11-4, 1-1) 67

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (11-5, 2-1) 64

BOISE STATE (11-4, 1-1) VS UTAH STATE (13-2, 2-0)

Location: Boise, Idaho (ExtraMile Arena)

Date/Time: Saturday, January 7th at 4:30 p.m. (Mountain Time)

Traditional Television: Fox Sports 1 (FS1)

Streaming: Fox Sports app

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Head-to-Head: Boise State trails this series 20-34. However, the Broncos won both meetings last year and the Aggies’ last win was back in 2020 in Logan, Utah.

Keys to Watch

1. Will Utah State be able to shoot the lights out from three-point land?

• According to KenPom, the Aggies are 2nd in three-point percentage throughout the entirety of division one, averaging 41.9%.

2. Can Boise State snag some offensive rebounds and capitalize on second-chance opportunities?

• Utah State ranks inside the top-five in allowed offensive rebound percentage, only giving up an offensive rebound on 21.8% of opportunities.

3. Will Boise State be able to keep up scoring-wise with Ryan Odom’s squad?

• Perhaps it was simply a torrid start, but the Aggies have put up 80 or more points in nine of their 15 games. It should be noted that in their first two Mountain West matchups, they have only amounted 67 and 77 points.

Stat Leaders (Averages)

Points

Boise State: Forward Tyson Degenhart - 13.0 Pts.

Utah State: Guard Steven Ashworth - 16.9 Pts.

Rebounds

Boise State: Forward Tyson Degenhart - 5.3 Reb.

Utah State: Forward Dan Akin - 7.1 Reb.

Assists

Boise State: Forward Tyson Degenhart - 1.9 Ast.

Utah State: Guard Max Shulga - 4.3 Ast.

Odds

Via our friends at DraftKings, Boise State is currently favored by 1.5 points and the total is set at 139.

Prediction

Boise State managed to avoid a sneaky hurdle in San Jose State, but the true difficulty of Mountain West play begins today with Utah State. The Aggies have beaten some very good teams, including Santa Clara, Oral Roberts, and Washington State. They have *technically* not lost a true road game this season.

I believe that ends today. Boise State has their first Kodak moment of the year under their belt, and the wheels are beginning to churn.

Final Score

Boise State 62 - Utah State 58

What are your thoughts on the Broncos’ performance against San Jose State?

Leave your comments down below.