Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year Tyson Degenhart had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Boise State over visiting Clemson 84-71 on Sunday afternoon.
Degenhart was 7-for-10 from the floor while Andrew Meadow added 18 points and nine boards for the Broncos (3-1), who took advantage of a 21-8 difference in bench points. O’Mar Stanley chipped in 13 as Boise State beat a Clemson team that went to the Elite Eight last season.
Clemson’s Chase Hunter put on a show in defeat, scoring a career-high 30 points, including 20 in the first half. Victor Lakhin added 13 points for the Tigers (3-1), who were playing their first road game.
Boise State led 36-35 at the half, then pushed its lead to double digits after Javan Buchanan hit a deep 3-pointer to make it 64-53 with 7:27 remaining.
Hunter staked the Tigers to an early 9-2 lead, scoring five points during the spurt.
Boise State answered with a 10-0 run, highlighted by Stanley’s strong move to the basket where he drew a foul after making the shot. His ensuing free throw gave the Broncos a 12-9 lead with 13:42 to play.
Boise State held a 22-21 lead with 7:38 left in the half after Andrew Meadow knocked down a 3-pointer. However, the Tigers led about a minute and a half later after Hunter connected on his third 3-pointer of the day for a 26-24 Clemson lead at the 5:58 mark.
The Broncos went over five minutes without a field goal late in the first half, missing five consecutive shots, but the drought ended with 2:24 remaining as Degenhart cut Clemson’s lead to 33-32 with 2:24 to go.
Boise State went back on top thanks to a floater from Julian Bowie with 51 seconds left. Hunter’s layup in the final seconds pulled Clemson within one at the break.
–Field Level Media
