It's bombs away for Boise in win over Nevada

RENO - Boise State started the game raining 3-pointers and didn't stop until it had dealt Nevada its worst home loss since the 1998-99 season.

The Broncos drained 13 of 22 3-point shots and used a 22-3 run in the second half to deal the Wolf Pack a 95-80 loss before 8,609 fans Saturday night at Lawlor Events Center.

The loss for Nevada, which dropped to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in Western Athletic Conference play, was the worst since Dec. 17, 1998 when Stanford dealt Nevada a 101-57 loss. Boise State improved to 13-5 overall and 4-2 in the WAC.

Nevada coach Mark Fox wasn't happy with his defense Thursday against Idaho, and was obviously unhappy with the effort against Boise State, which came into the game averaging more than 80 points a game.

"They are a great offensive team," Fox said. "They are No. 1 in field goal percentage in the country. They are like us last year in that they can score at every position and you have to play smart. As experienced and good as they are offensively, you have to defend every play.

"We played hard in the first half, but you can't be a good team playing off just emotion. You have to be proficient at both ends. We didn't guard them that well in the first half."

It was only the second win for Boise State in Reno. The Broncos upset Nevada in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament during the 2004-05 season.

"For the Motley Crew, that was our No. 1 single," Boise State coach Greg Graham said. "Our guys played their tails off. To come back after a tough loss, I can't say enough about them.

"We played as good as we can play. We were getting downcourt and shooting it. The other key is we had 23 assists on 31 baskets. We shared the ball well."

The night for Boise State belonged to the perimeter players - Tyler Tiedeman (27 points), Anthony Thomas (16 points) and Matt Bauscher (10 points, 8 assists).

Tiedeman was 8-for-11 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and he was the main weapon in the Broncos' second-half barrage.

"The guards feed off the inside guys (Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson)," Tiedeman said. "Tonight the guards did a great job. This team thrives on open jump shots. We work on it in practice everyday."

The game started out as a battle of 3-pointers, as the teams combined for 10-for-14 in the first eight-plus minutes. Five of Boise State's baskets were of the 3-point variety.

The game settled down somewhat, though Nevada led just twice in the first nine minutes, 24-23 and 26-25.

The Broncos used an 11-2 run to build the biggest lead of the half, 36-28, with 6:25 left. Jamar Greene started the surge with a 3-pointer, Bauscher followed with a fadeaway in the key and Thomas scored on a lay-up for a 32-26 lead. JaVale McGee hit a bank shot, but a bank shot by Kurt Cunningham and two free throws by Bauscher made it an eight-point lead.

The rest of the half belonged to the Pack, which scored 18 of the next 24 points for a 46-42 lead, including a 7-0 run that featured five straight points by Marcelus Kemp (23 points) and a lay-up by Armon Johnson (20 points).

A dunk by Demarshay Johnson off a slick pass from Kemp gave the Pack a 52-47 lead with 17 minutes left.

Then it got extremely ugly for the Pack, who had won 31 of its previous 33 games at Lawlor.

Bauscher nailed a 3-pointer, and after a turnover, Tiedeman dropped in a howitzer from the left corner to give the Broncos a 53-52 lead.

Demarshay Johnson picked up his third foul and went to the bench with 15:57 left, and McGee got his third 35 seconds later. That was big because BSU outscored Nevada 15-3 without their two big men.

Nevada missed its next five shots after the Tiedeman trey, and the Broncos capitalized on the last three misfires with two baskets by Tiedeman and a 3-pointer by Thomas to make it 60-52 with 13:01 left. Kemp nailed one from beyond the arc, and the Broncos finished the impressive run with two 3-pointers by Thomas and another one from Tiedeman.

It was a depressing stretch considering the way Nevada finished the first half and played in the first three minutes of the second half.

"Our defense wasn't there in the second half, and we just came out flat," Armon Johnson said. "In the first half, we had intensity and stuff came our way. The second half was just punishing."

By the time Fox got McGee and Johnson back in the game, the damage had essentially been done, though to be fair the Broncos did most of the damage on the perimeter. The loss of McGee and Demarshay Johnson hurts on the boards, as the Pack was outrebounded for the seventh time this season, 38-29.

"There were still double-digit minutes left," Fox said. "Their post players are so productive. It's a tough match-up."

"Getting McGee in foul trouble helped," Graham said. "You then go against guys that are 6-8 or 6-9 (instead). He's so long. It opened up things for Nelson."

Nevada never cut the deficit to less than 10 until the final minute when a Kemp bucket made it 89-80 with 46 seconds left.

"Any loss is difficult," Kemp said. "We want to win every game. This game was no different, but we'll bounce back."