Boise State tops 50% shooting to sink Texas A&M

Max Rice scored a career-high 25 points to fuel visiting Boise State to an 86-71 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday at The Battleground 2k22 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Rice's previous high of 22 came during the Broncos' 89-52 win over New Mexico on Dec. 23, 2020.

Rice, Marcus Shaver Jr. and Chibuzo Agbo each made three 3-pointers as the Broncos (6-2) rode a blistering shooting performance to their fifth straight victory.

Boise State shot 52.3 percent from the field (23 of 44) and 44 percent from 3-point range (11 of 25). The Broncos also made 29 of 36 shots from the free-throw line, with Shaver leading the way by sinking 11 of 12 attempts.

Shaver scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half. Agbo finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Naje Smith added 11 points for the Broncos.

Wade Taylor IV collected 16 points and six assists and Henry Coleman III added 12 points for the Aggies (5-3), who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.

Texas A&M trimmed its deficit to six points with 15:04 to play in the second half before Shaver halted the momentum on the next possession with a 3-pointer for his first field goal of the night.

Shaver sank two more 3-pointers and Rice drained an uncontested shot from beyond the arc to push Boise State's lead to 73-62 with 3:16 to play in the second half.

Boise State shot 50 percent from both the floor (12 of 24) and 3-point range (7 of 14) to seize a 37-28 lead at intermission.

Agbo drained his third 3-pointer in as many attempts to stake the Broncos to a 26-18 lead with 8:54 remaining in the first half. Coleman trimmed the deficit with a jumper, but Rice answered with one of his own at the other end and made his second 3-pointer to push Boise State's advantage to 31-20.