Boise State can’t overcome off night as nation’s longest home winning streak is snapped

The nation’s longest home winning streak is over.

UNLV rode a hot start and 34 points in the paint to a 68-64 win over Boise State on Tuesday at ExtraMile Arena, snapping the Broncos’ home winning streak at 22 games.

Boise State junior Tyson Degenhart said the Broncos were more worried about securing the win than extending the streak, but it still hurt to see it come to an end.

“It’s hard to send these fans home sad with a loss,” Degenhart said after the game.

The Broncos (12-5, 3-1 Mountain West) weren’t themselves Tuesday. They struggled to hit clutch free throws one game removed from going 9-for-10 at the charity stripe in the closing minutes of a 64-56 win at Nevada on Friday.

Boise State cut UNLV’s lead to two points on multiple occasions late in the game, but the Broncos missed three free throws in the final two minutes. Two of them were the front end of one-and-one opportunities. They finished the game 12-for-18 at the line.

UNLV, on the other hand, hit free throws when they were needed most. The Rebels went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in the game’s final 40 seconds to secure the win. They finished the game 10-for-17 from the line.

“Like I always say, there’s two things that don’t last: dogs that chase cars and teams that don’t make free throws,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said after the game.

The Broncos weren’t themselves on the glass, either.

Boise State and UNLV finished the game with 35 rebounds apiece, but the Rebels pulled down 13 offensive rebounds and turned them into 16 second-chance points. The Broncos held Nevada to two offensive rebounds Friday, and they hadn’t given up more than nine in eight straight games.

“They’re athletic, they’re big, they’re strong and they went after the ball,” Rice said of UNLV. “You’ve got to play at a high level every night to win games in the league.”

The Rebels (9-7, 2-2 MW) jumped on the Broncos right from the start. UNLV led by as many as 10 points early in the first half, but the Broncos battled back with a 13-2 run that was sparked offensively by seven straight points from Chibuzo Agbo. The Rebels went into halftime with a 36-34 lead.

“They wanted it more than us,” Degenhart said. “They had a 10-point lead 7:22 into the game, and we couldn’t recover from it.”

Boise State didn’t get much out of its frontcourt Tuesday. St. John’s transfer O’Mar Stanley was limited to four points on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half. He finished the game with seven points and 12 rebounds.

Stanley is averaging 17.5 points a night in the Broncos’ past six games, but UNLV neutralized him Tuesday with an aggressive double team. That’s something he’s going to have to learn how to overcome in the second half of the season, Rice said.

“When you face a double (team), you can’t just say I’m going to beat it with my ability,” Rice said. “You have to do it with your scheme and your mind, but you still have to be aggressive, so it’s a fine line.”

Kansas transfer Can Martin, who returned from injury Friday at Nevada, managed just two points. He also coughed up a costly turnover and gave up a couple of easy baskets on defense in the first half and only played four minutes after halftime.

Degenhart was held scoreless until the final minutes of the first half. He knocked down two free throws that gave the Broncos a 31-30 lead that didn’t last. He also knocked down a 3-pointer that gave Boise State another short-lived lead in the final seconds of the half.

He came to life in the second half, though. Degenhart racked up 19 points after halftime, including a 3-pointer that cut the Rebels’ lead to two points early in the half. He also got a floater to drop that cut the lead to 61-59 with 2:40 to play.

Despite being held to just five points in the first half, Degenhart finished with a season-high 24. It was the third time he scored at least 20 points in the Broncos’ past four games.

“I had a couple shots that didn’t fall in the first half, but I just knew I needed to stay aggressive and keep attacking the rim,” Degenhart said.

Agbo finished with 14 points. Max Rice chipped in 10 despite shooting 3-of-12 from the floor.

Boise State didn’t get much help from its bench. The Broncos’ reserves produced just two points, while UNLV got 20 points from its bench.

Boise State’s bench has scored 15 total points in four Mountain West games this season, 11 of which were scored in a 65-58 win over Colorado State.

Rice said he needs to see more energy from his bench.

“They have to make it so you don’t look and go ‘it’s looking different now that those guys are in,’ ” Rice said. “That first group was competing its tail off, but there were some minutes when it looked different, and you can’t have that.”

Rob Whaley Jr. led UNLV with 18 points, while Webster finished with 15 and Keylan Boone added 10.

Boise State is back in action at home Saturday (11 a.m., CBS) against San Diego State.