Senior Max Rice scored a career-high 35 points, sinking a career-best seven 3-pointers, as Boise State upset No. 19 New Mexico 86-78 on Wednesday in Albuquerque, N.M.
Rice set his previous high of 30 points against New Mexico last season.
Rice, the son of Boise State coach Leon Rice, made 12 of 20 shots from the floor, 7 of 14 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 at the foul line.
Chibuzo Agbo added 16 points and seven rebounds and O’Mar Stanley finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for Boise State (15-6, 6-2 Mountain West), which won for the third time in four games.
New Mexico (18-4, 6-3) was led by sophomore Donovan Dent’s career-high 31 points.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. added 14 points and Jaelen House finished with 12 points on 2-of-15 shooting from the floor for the Lobos, whose five-game winning streak ended.
Boise State went on a 14-0 run, which included one of Rice’s 3-pointers, to take a 29-20 lead with 7:34 left in the first half.
In that surge, the Broncos made five consecutive shots while New Mexico missed nine straight attempts.
The Lobos responded with eight unanswered points, six by Dent, to cut the deficit to 29-28 with 5:55 left before halftime.
Rice had 11 points and Stanley 10 in the first half to lead Boise State to a 41-38 halftime lead.
New Mexico took its first lead of the second half at 49-48 with 15:25 left on two foul shots by Nelly Junior Joseph.
A 3-pointer by Rice and layup by Cam Martin put the Broncos ahead 53-49 with 13:21 to go.
Boise State held the lead until 7:23 remained, when Mashburn made a 3-pointer to tie the score at 67.
The Broncos then went on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Agbo, to take a 77-69 lead with 3:46 remaining.
New Mexico did not get closer than six points the rest of the game.
Boise State shot 50 percent from the floor (15 of 30) and beyond the arc (6 of 12) in the second half.
Rice had 24 points after halftime while making 8 of 12 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
