Despite second-half comeback, awful first half downs Boise State hoops against Wazzu

You don’t often see Boise State senior forward Tyson Degenhart shoot an airball. If it does happen, you very rarely see him do it again.

So when Degenhart pulled up from the corner and saw his shot sail inches wide of the hoop for the second time in 20 minutes, Idaho Central Arena went quiet. That is, of course, aside from the smattering of “airball” chants from pockets of Washington State fans around the arena.

The moment was indicative of the worst 20 minutes of basketball Boise State has played this season, eventually leading to the Broncos’ 74-69 loss to Washington State (8-2. The Cougars outscored Boise State 44-24 in the first half, setting up a mountain that was too high for the Broncos to climb despite a valiant second-half effort.

“We just didn’t have the intensity and the grit to compete in that first half,” Degenhart said. “Proud of us for playing so hard in the second half, but we had to have a full effort for 40 minutes.”

Degenhart managed to end the game with 18 points after a first half that saw him score just two points and commit three personal fouls. His second-half efforts, alongside a team-high scoring night from sophomore forward Andrew Meadow, gave the Broncos a real chance of coming all the way back.

A 9-0 run for the Broncos midway through the second half tightened the score to 52-39 before the Cougars responded with a bucket of their own.

A six-point sequence soon followed after senior guard Alvaro Cardenas was fouled on a made 3-pointer and missed the free throw. The Broncos won the rebound and kicked it back out for a Degenhart 3 to cut the deficit to 57-49.

The Broncos got the game to as close as 73-69 within the final 30 seconds but couldn’t get over the final hump. Boise State outscored Washington State 45-30 in the second half.

“When it comes to energy, the intensity that we had on defense, the desperation, just about everything flipped in the second half,” Degenhart said. “If we’re able to play like that second half for a full game, we’re a pretty good team.”

The Broncos started the game shooting 6-for-24 and ended the first half with an ugly 3-for-17 from beyond the arc. Boise State head coach Leon Rice said he was frustrated in that it felt like his team “took the bait” and was trying too many 3-pointers in the first half.

“They have to do a lot better job of being coachable,” Rice said. “And being coachable means being able to listen to the message and then be able to go out and execute.”

But because of the 20-point halftime deficit, the Broncos were essentially forced to take some difficult shots from beyond the arc to get back into the game. And where they weren’t falling in the first half, they were in the second.

Boise State shot 4-for-10 from 3 in the second half, with Meadow responsible for two of those. The sophomore played the second-most minutes of the game and went 7-for-13 from the field, as well as grabbing seven rebounds.

The Broncos will have a week to turn things around before a trip to California to take on Saint Mary’s, which entered Saturday 8-1. The Gaels have appeared in the past three NCAA Tournaments as a No. 5 seed, making the second round in two of those three appearances.

“We’re not going to focus on Saint Mary’s until later in the week, but we’re going to find a way to get better these next couple of days,” Degenhart said. “Hopefully that produces a good result.”