Due date: UNM’s eight-game winning streak snapped at BSU
Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart and Javan Buchanan celebrate in an 86-78 victory against UNM in Extra MIle Arena on Wednesday in Boise, Idaho. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Lobos. Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics.
BOISE, Idaho - The UNM men’s basketball team had to snack on that.
It wasn’t tasty.
Boise State true freshman Pearson Carmichael - whose nickname is “Peanut” - scored 21 points and hit four 3s.
Carmichael helped Boise State with 15 points in the second half en route to an 86-78 victory over UNM.
It was Carmichael’s first career start.
“‘Peanut’ - he’s just been steadily getting better and more confident,” Boise State head men’s basketball coach Leon Rice said. “It was like, alright, time to be a ‘dude.’ You know, we brought you here to be a ‘dude’ and we brought in a lot of good freshmen into this program. And at some point - it was never the same point - but at some point, they were handed the keys to the car and they were ready for it.”
Boise State also got a career night out of its trusted veteran and maybe the most prolific player in BSU men’s basketball program history: forward Tyson Degenhart.
Degenhart scored 32 points with seven rebounds. It was a career-high and his first 30-point game.
“We take Tyson for granted,” Rice said. “Thirty-two (points) off of 16 shots, that is pretty pretty efficient. And you know, when you’ve got him out there (on the court), you feel pretty good. That’s probably why I never take him out.”
The Broncos also had a big night from San Jose State transfer guard Alvaro Cardenas. He finished with 11 points, 10 assists and five steals.
BSU senior forward O’Mar Stanely, who had struggled most of this season, came off the bench and scored seven points. He didn’t miss one of his three shots.
In his 15 minutes on the court, Stanley also had three rebounds and two assists.
The dynamic duo against the Lobos of Degenhart and Carmichael, combined for 53 of BSU’s 86 points.
“I think it was just a great team effort from everybody,” Cardenas said. “The score at the end seems closer than it was. But I think we did a good job and I was proud of the team.”
The win for BSU moves the Broncos to 13-1 on the season inside Extra Mile Arena. And it’s the seventh straight loss for UNM in Boise. The last time the Lobos won at Boise State was in 2017 under Craig Neal.
This was UNM’s first loss since Jan. 14 when the Lobos fell at San Jose State, 71-70.
It was an eight-game Lobos winning streak that included two come-from-behind wins and twice they fended off second-place Utah State to maintain control of first place by two games.
After the loss to Boise State, that UNM MWC conference first-place lead is down to one game.
“We tried to slow them down and came back at the end,” Pitino said. “Credit to Boise State, they needed that win to get back into the picture. We have a chance to get some rest and get ready to go to San Diego next week.”
Despite the loss, the Lobos shot 50 percent from the field and got double-digit points from three starters.
Filip Borovicanin scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Lobos in scoring.
Donovan Dent had 17 points and tied a season-high with 11 assists for his fourth double-double of 2024-25.
Dent becomes the first Lobo to have four 10-assist games in a season since the Mountain West began and it’s his ninth game of the season with at least eight assists.
Center Nelly Junior Joseph had 17 points and eight rebounds.
CJ Noland, who exited on Sunday in the win over Utah State after he took a shot to the head early in the contest, was considered day-to-day and a game-time decision against the Broncos on Wednesday.
Noland came off the bench and scored 12 points.
UNM moves to 22-5 on the season and 14-2 in Mountain West Conference play. The Lobos were looking to tie the best start in league history with the 2019-20 San Diego State Aztecs. SDSU went 17-1 in MWC play.
The Lobos did show fight late in the game. A 9-0 run cut the Broncos lead into single digits at 82-73 with 41 seconds left.
The Lobos were without senior forward Mustapha Amzil (Plantar fasciitis). It’s Amzil’s second straight game missed and third in the last four.
Freshman forward Jovan Milicevic, who has filled in Amzil’s shoes in his absence struggled the entire night against Boise State.
Milicevic went 0-for-4 from the field and missed all three 3-point attempts.
Rice said the Lobos had been playing great in MWC play.
“They’re physical and they’ve got some great players that all know their roles,” Rice said. “They playing with confidence and when you get on a winnings streak like that, you think everything is going in.”
UNM did control the game early and led as many as six with 12:08 to go in the first half.
However, BSU flexed and dominated early in the second half. Boise State led 64-45 with 12 minutes to play in the game after an 18-2 run.
“Our defensive disruption was just not where it has been recently. It was just one of those games. We felt good going into halftime, but then they went on that run,” UNM head basketball coach Richard Pitino said.
The Broncos move to 18-8 on the season and 10-5 in the MWC. The win helps with chances of a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Boise State has never won a NCAA Tournament game, the program is 0-10 all-time.
NEXT UP: New Mexico Lobos at San Diego State Aztecs
Time: Tuesday at 9 p.m.
Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, Calif.
Listen: Lobo Radio Network (96.3 FM/770 AM)
Watch: FS1
History: UNM beat SDSU 62-48 back on Jan. 11 in The Pit. Donovan Dent had 16 points and five assists and Mustapha Amzil had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.