Boise State Rips Hawai'i 95-80

The Boise State basketball team needed a victory over Hawai'i to avoid a slide to sixth place. The Broncos left no doubt with a 95-80 win that wasn't near as close as the final score. Due to the team taking care of business, they are now in second place. What a difference a game makes. The same can be said for Monday's contest at Fresno State.

Senior guard Matt Bauscher continued his hot play with 21 points to lead Boise State to a 95-80 win over Hawai’i tonight in Taco Bell Arena.  The inside-outside Bronco game was too much for the Rainbow Warriors, as forward Matt  Nelson poured in 18 points in the key and battled for 12 rebounds.  Three-point specialist Tyler Tiedeman contributed 17 points in the victory.

The Broncos shot out to a 25-point lead at halftime 47-22 and extended that to 31 points with six minutes left.  While Coach Greg Graham emptied the bench, Hawai’i, with a game coming up Saturday against Idaho, left their starters in the entire game.

Boise State, the nation’s best-shooting team, connected on a mind-blowing 14-of-22 shots from three-point land (64%) to bury the team from the islands early.  The tenacious Broncos also outrebounded their opponents 45-27.  Hawai’i’s Matt Gibson led all scorers with 26 points, with Riley Luettgoerodt hitting for 14 and Bobby Nash contributing 13.

 Boise State advanced to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the Western Athletic Conference with the important league win.  The Broncos moved up into second place in the league standings but will need a key win  Monday on the road against tough Fresno State (2-3 in the WAC) to remain there.  Hawai’i slipped to 7-11 and 3-3 in the WAC.