Basketball
The Boise State men’s basketball team has one final tuneup before entering a difficult portion of its Mountain West schedule.
After hammering last-place Air Force (3-17, 0-9) over the weekend, the Broncos (12-8, 4-5) will attempt to extend their winning streak to four games on Tuesday at San Jose State (6-14, 1-8). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Mountain time at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
Following Tuesday’s game against the Spartans, Boise State enters a five-game stretch featuring road trips to Grand Canyon (13-6, 6-2), New Mexico (16-4, 7-2) and Utah State (16-3, 7-2) with home matchups against Nevada (14-6, 6-3) and UNLV (10-9, 5-3).
Broncos junior center Drew Fielder had a monster game against Air Force with 20 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes. Fielder is averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over the last four games.
“I told Drew one day at practice, I said ‘I’m not here to make you good,’” head coach Leon Rice said after the Air Force game. “‘You’re already good, just naturally. I’m here to make you great. But to be great, you’ve got to dig deep down and have that mindset.’ And he had a great mindset (against Air Force). He was dominant.”
San Jose State has dropped nine of its last 10 games, including a hard-fought 66-62 road loss to Wyoming (12-8, 3-6) on Saturday. The Spartans tied the game with 40 seconds remaining on a Colby Garland bucket, but the Cowboys netted the final four points to seal the win.
“Just a brutal way to lose the game,” San Jose State head coach Tim Miles said. “We didn’t quite make enough plays, but to have such a close call for our kids at the end was really difficult. But we’ve got to get ready, Boise State awaits on Tuesday.”
Garland, a junior guard, averages 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals. Garland transferred to San Jose State last offseason after stops at Drake and Longwood.
The 6-foot-11 Fielder is Boise State’s offensive leader at 13.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He is shooting 55 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
HOW TO WATCH BOISE STATE VS. SAN JOSE STATE
Who: Boise State will take on San Jose State in Mountain West play
Records: Boise State 12-8, 4-5; San Jose State 6-14, 1-8
When: 8 p.m. Mountain time | Tuesday, Jan. 27
Where: Provident Credit Union Event Center | San Jose, California
TV channel: Mountain West Network
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