Degenhart’s career night leads Boise State past Air Force. Conference road tests loom

A young fan found a creative way to collect some autographs before Boise State’s 94-56 win over Air Force on Saturday.

He carried a homemade hoop and a toy basketball around the court before Saturday’s game at ExtraMile Arena, and he had a sign that read, “If you miss the shot, you have to sign my backboard.”

One of the signatures he collected was from Boise State junior Tyson Degenhart. He better make sure to keep that one. It might be worth something after the two-time All-Mountain West pick’s career day on Saturday.

Degenhart paced the Broncos with a career-high 29 points, eclipsing the 28 he scored in a win at New Mexico last January. He hit his first eight field-goal attempts and finished the game 11-for-12 from the floor and 2-for-3 from 3-point range. His previous season-high was 24 points in Boise State’s loss to Utah State.

“I give credit to my teammates,” said Degenhart, adding the most points he’s ever scored in a game was 37 in high school. “They were finding me, and we were moving the ball really, really well tonight.”

Degenhart scored 10 points in the final 4:30 of the first half and went into halftime with 20. His early spurt helped the Broncos erase an early deficit with a 16-0 run and go into halftime with a 41-27 lead.

He leads the Broncos with 15.7 points per night this season, and Degenhart has a knack for scoring points when his team needs them the most. He put up 19 in the second half of Boise State’s loss to Utah State and gave the Broncos a chance to win with some big late shots.

“He’s just clutch,” Boise State basketball coach Leon Rice said. “It’s a credit to our guys today because they got out there, adjusted and solved the problem.”

Air Force (8-13, 1-8 Mountain West) was hot from the perimeter from the opening whistle. The Falcons hit six of their first nine 3-pointers, including one from Ethan Taylor that gave them a 27-25 lead with 6:50 left in the half.

The Falcons’ shots eventually stopped falling. They missed the final seven 3-pointers of the half while the Broncos pulled away with their 16-0 run in the final 5:00. Air Force finished the game 10-for-31 from 3-point range.

Boise State had the last laugh from 3-point range on Saturday. The Broncos finished the game 15-for-27 from beyond the arc, tying the season-high 15 threes they hit in a 109-70 win over Western Oregon on Dec. 9, 2023.

The Broncos had six players knock down a three, led by Chibuzo Agbo, who went 4-for-6 from the perimeter, and Max Rice, who went 4-for-7. Agbo and O’Mar Stanley both finished the game with 14 points, while Rice chipped in with 12.

Agbo gave Degenhart a lot of the credit for the Broncos’ big offensive night.

“When he’s getting hot like that, you just throw the ball in there and he’s probably going to score,” Agbo said.

Air Force’s Beau Becker was perfect from the floor for the first 17 minutes of the game. He reeled off a quick 13 points and opened the game 3-for-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the floor. Becker was held scoreless in the second half and finished the game 5-for-12 from the floor. Jeffery Mills led the Falcons with 17 points.

Boise State isn’t back in action at ExtraMile Arena until it hosts Fresno State on Feb. 17. The Broncos have a couple of tough road games next week at Colorado State (7 p.m., Tuesday) and Utah State (8 p.m., Saturday).

The Aggies fell to San Diego State on Saturday, leaving Utah State and Boise State tied with 7-2 records in Mountain West play.

“We’ve put ourselves in a great position,” Degenhart said. “It’s going to be a great challenge for us this week, and we’re excited.”