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.