Tyson Degenhart breaks scoring record: 3 takeaways from Boise State’s MWC Tournament win over New Mexico

Here are three takeaways from Boise State’s (24-9) dramatic win over the Lobos (26-7). 

1. Back-to-back gritty performances

Late in the first half of Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup with fourth-seeded San Diego State, the Broncos trailed by 11 points and appeared to be in serious trouble. 

But Boise State closed the period with a 6-0 run and out-scored the Aztecs 34-19 over the final 20 minutes for a 62-52 victory. 

The Broncos found themselves in a similar position Friday as the Lobos entered halftime up 34-28. And just like the San Diego State game, Boise State dominated the second half. 

Reserve big Emmanuel Ugbo played a major role in the comeback, putting the Broncos in front at 54-53 with a rebound and-one basket at the 8:17 mark. The sophomore then blocked a Nelly Junior Joseph shot and buried a 3-pointer on the other end for a 57-53 lead. 

Ugbo finished with 17 points — a new career-high — five rebounds and three blocks. He entered Friday 3 of 15 from beyond the arc and finished 2 of 3 against the Lobos. 

When Donovan Dent and the Lobos came back to take a late 66-65 lead, Andrew Meadow hit a dagger 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to put the Broncos back in front. Following a Dent miss, Meadow then sealed the game with a transition dunk of a home-run ball from RJ Keene II that made it 70-66. 

Meadow put together another strong performance with 16 points and five rebounds. His late 3-pointer was set up by Alvaro Cardenas, the last of his game-high 12 assists. 

With heroics from several players, the Broncos won the second half 44-35 to secure a spot in Saturday’s MWC Tournament championship game. 

2. Tyson Degenhart breaks record

Boise State men’s basketball has a new scoring king. 

With a second-half layup — assisted by Cardenas, of course — Tyson Degenhart became the all-time leading scorer in program history. The previous record belonged to Tanoka Beard, who played for the Broncos from 1989-93 and scored 1,944 points. 

Degenhart needed 18 points against the Lobos to break Beard’s record. The senior forward finished the game with 22 points, giving him 1,949 and counting. 

“To do it in a game that gets us to the Mountain West championship means a lot,” Degenhart said. “It’s kind of good to get that record out of the way so I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Added head coach Leon Rice: “I’m so glad he got it in a game like that where it means so much. He’s so deserving.”

3. NCAA Tournament locked up?

Entering Friday’s action, Joe Lunardi of ESPN had Boise State as the first team out in his NCAA Tournament projection. 

Lunardi bumped the Broncos up to the last four in following the New Mexico win. 

As of Friday night, Lunardi had San Diego State, Xavier, Boise State and North Carolina as the last four teams in. 

With back-to-back wins over projected NCAA Tournament participants, Boise State may be dancing regardless of Saturday’s outcome. But the Broncos would certainly prefer to remove all doubt and secure the MWC’s automatic bid.