Boise State men’s basketball pays steep price for free throw woes against Saint Louis

The topic of conversation did not come as a surprise to Abu Kigab in postgame interviews. But that didn’t make the inquiries any less uncomfortable.

“Are you guys a better free-throw shooting team than this?”

On Tuesday night, the simple answer was no. The Boise State men’s basketball team made just 12-of-26 from the free-throw line and ultimately fell 86-82 in overtime to Saint Louis in front of 6,765 fans at ExtraMile Arena.

The Billikens (7-1), on the other hand, knocked down 30-of-34 freebies to steal the nonconference road victory.

“It happens, some of the best teams lose because they’re missing free throws uncharacteristically,” Kigab said. “But I have faith we will make them.”

Kigab and the Broncos (3-4) better get to work. They are now 66-for-117 (56.4%) from the line this season, a stat that ranks 353rd out of 358 Division I programs, according to KenPom.com.

Kigab scored a game-high 27 points and missed just six shots (11-for-17) from the floor. He also missed six free throws (5-for-11) that could have been the difference, a black mark on an otherwise good game that saw him finish with eight rebounds, three steals and one assist.

“It’s such a fine line when you’re playing good teams,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “There’s just a couple plays here and there — a couple bounces go your way — but we all know the elephant in the room is the free-throw line.”

Playing their first game since shooting a program-worst 22.4% from the floor in a 46-39 loss at home to Cal State Bakersfield, the Broncos made their first five shots and appeared to have put the lackluster performance behind them, darting to an 11-0 lead.

They trailed Saint Louis 39-35 at halftime, but made seven of their eight 3-pointers in the second half, highlighted by a nearly 2-minute stretch in which redshirt senior Marcus Shaver Jr. knocked down three triples and Emmanuel Akot one for a 64-62 Boise State lead with 9:16 to play.

Shaver scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and was one of five Broncos to score in double figures.

“I scheduled this year like this on purpose — to build us for the end,” Rice said. “I wouldn’t do it with a young team, because it’s tough. And it’s night after night after night. But it’s forcing us to face issues. It’s forcing us to get better. And we’re gonna.

“I’ve got resilient guys that care about each other, and they’re gonna battle.”

The Broncos narrowly missed out on a win in regulation.

True freshman Tyson Degenhart, who made his first career start, took his defender to the hoop and scored on a one-handed jumper off the window to tie the score at 73-all with 39 seconds left. As Degenhart lifted his arms in celebration, the crowd rose to its feet in response, and then Kigab drew a charge on the other end, giving Boise State the ball.

Rice called a timeout with 7.6 seconds left and decided on a play to get Akot the ball, but his jumper in the key came up short, sending the game to overtime.

“He’s really good at the end of a shot clock, because he can get it up and over a guy,” Rice said. “... He had (his defender) in trouble. If he doesn’t fade away, he probably gets a foul call and we can go win it, ironically, at the free-throw line. That would have been a better ending, I think.”

But that’s not the way it went.

The Broncos led 82-81 in overtime after a three-point play from Shaver, but the Billikens scored the final five points of the game thanks to sophomore guard Yuri Collins, who responded on the next possession with a layup and then made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12.7 seconds.

Degenhart (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks), Akot (10 points) and Pavle Kuzmanovic (11 points) joined Kigab and Shaver in double figures, and Mladen Armus added a team-best 10 rebounds to go with eight points, four blocked shots and three assists.

“It was definitely a surreal moment. It’s been a dream of mine to start in a Division I game, and it happened tonight and that was cool,” Degenhart said. “But overall, I wanted the win but we didn’t get it.”

Boise State concludes a three-game homestand against Tulsa (4-3) on Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena, and the game will be streamed online by the Mountain West Network, which is available at broncosports.com/mwn.

Notes: Tuesday’s game featured 17 lead changes and 12 ties. ... Borah High graduate DeAndre Jones had eight points, two assists and one steal off the bench for Saint Louis. Armus (four) and Degenhart (three) became the first Boise State duo to block at least three shots each in the same game under Rice. ... Tuesday’s game was the first meeting between Boise State and Saint Louis. The teams are scheduled to meet next year in Saint Louis.

SAINT LOUIS 86, BOISE STATE 82, OT

Saint Louis (7-1): Hargrove 2-3 1-2 6, Linssen 1-4 5-6 7, Collins 5-13 5-6 15, Jimerson 6-8 8-8 21, Nesbitt 1-8 3-4 6, Thatch 4-6 4-4 12, Okoro 3-7 2-2 8, Jones 2-3 2-2 8, Williams 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 25-54 30-34 86.

Boise State (3-4): Armus 4-7 0-3 8, Degenhart 5-7 0-1 11, Kigab 11-17 5-11 27, Akot 3-10 3-5 10, Shaver 5-12 1-1 14, Kuzmanovic 3-7 2-2 11, N.Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Doutrive 0-3 1-2 1, Rice 0-1 0-1 0, Milner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 12-26 82.

Halftime — Saint Louis 39-35. 3-Point Goals — Saint Louis 6-13 (Jones 2-3, Hargrove 1-1, Jimerson 1-2, Williams 1-2, Nesbitt 1-4, Thatch 0-1), Boise St. 8-25 (Kuzmanovic 3-6, Shaver 3-7, Degenhart 1-3, Akot 1-5, Kigab 0-1, N.Smith 0-1, Doutrive 0-2). Fouled Out — Linssen, Jimerson. Rebounds — Saint Louis 33 (Nesbitt 8), Boise St. 34 (Armus 10). Assists — Saint Louis 10 (Jimerson 3), Boise St. 11 (Armus, Kuzmanovic 3). Total Fouls — Saint Louis 26, Boise St. 22. A — 6,765 (12,480).