Life without Anthony Drmic should have been tougher than this. After loosing the star backcourt leader in late December, Boise State went through a rough 0-4 stretch that few thought they would come back from. They have went 12-1 since that rough patch, including a surprising win Saturday night in Aztec Country that has rattled the world of the Mountain West conference.
It was defense throughout the match, as scoring didn't come easy for either team. However, despite the raucous crowd of 12,000+ in their ears, Boise State was able to get timely buckets, and prevailed 56-46. Star Bronco Derrick Marks had a rough shooting night, going 6-22 for the evening, but he was able to get to the foul line often, ending up leading BSU with 18 points for the affair.
Boise State went 16-20 at the foul line, and that was a key statistic, as SDSU's Aqeel Quinn fouled out of the game, and JJ O'Brien got into foul trouble. However, the deciding factor for the Broncos was James Webb III, who had a monster game of 16 points and 12 rebounds. He was the catalyst for the evening, as Leon Rice's crew knew to get into the paint and let him score easy layups. He was also able to step to the outside and hit some 3's, which put the game away from the ice-cold Aztecs. A 15-2 run starting with 9 minutes left in the game is what put the game in the clutches of Boise State for good.
This was SDSU's 2nd loss of the year to Boise State, and in both games they were held to 46 points. Trey Kell and Aqeel Quinn combined for 3-19 shooting, throwing up air balls from ill-advised spots. Winston Shepard once again led San Diego State in scoring with 16, but even he couldn't fully figure out the enigma that was the BSU frontcourt defense.
Boise State now is in the driver's seat to win the MWC regular season title, and the amazing job by Leon Rice is being noticed. San Diego State will travel and play UNLV on Wednesday, while Boise State will tussle against conference bottom dwellers San Jose State on the same day.