Max Rice scored 12 of his 26 points in a big run to close the game as host Boise State upset No. 18 San Diego State 66-60 in a Mountain West Conference game on Tuesday.
Rice keyed a 14-0 run to clinch it. Tyson Degenhart scored 14 points and Naje Smith finished with 10 for Boise State (23-7, 13-4 MWC), which pulled within a game of the Aztecs for first place in the conference with one game remaining.
Matt Bradley scored 16 points and Micah Parrish had 11 points off the bench for the Aztecs (23-6, 14-3), who didn’t score after taking a 60-52 lead on a three-point play by Parrish with 4:48 left.
Rice sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to extend the run to 10-0 and move Boise State ahead 62-60 with 2:42 to go.
Rice then had a steal and a layup for a 64-60 lead with 2:22 left. Marcus Shaver Jr. made two free throws to give Boise State a 66-60 edge with 28 seconds left.
The Aztecs took a 30-27 lead into halftime after both teams shot 40 percent.
San Diego State went out to an 11-4 lead and forced six turnovers in the first nine minutes.
The Broncos briefly regained the lead, 21-20, on a 3-pointer by Rice with 4:20 left, but Adam Seiko took it back with a 3-pointer 19 seconds later.
The Broncos again took the lead 33-32 on a 3-pointer by Shaver with 17:07 left, but the Aztecs grabbed it back the next trip down the floor on a step-back baseline jumper by Bradley.
San Diego State went on a 7-0 run to lead 43-35 with 13:43 to go, but Boise State came back with seven unanswered points to pull back within a point.
Bradley capped a 7-0 run with two free throws to give San Diego State its biggest lead at 57-48 with 6:16 left.
–Field Level Media
