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 Boise State Wins First-Ever MW Championship Title (Photo: MWC)
Boise State Wins First-Ever MW Championship Title - Mar 12, 2022 
Top-seeded Boise State claims its first-ever Mountain West men's basketball crown after defeating No. 3 San Diego State, 53-52.With the victory, Boise State became just the fifth team in Mountain West history to win an outright regular-season title as well as a Conference tournament title in the same season. The Broncos secured the Mountain West's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with the win. 'I think both teams just battled and, you know, came down to one possession for us on offense, one possession for them,' said Boise State head coach Leon Rice . 'It's only fitting that this team, you know, bows their neck and is able to get a stop on that last possession against a tough team.' Playing in their very first Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship game, Boise State was led by three scorers in double digits, including freshman Tyson Degenhart (6'7''-F), who had a team-high 13 points. He was joined by Emmanuel Akot (6'8''-G/F-1999, agency: Interperformances) and Abu Kigab (6'7''-F-1998), who combined for 21 points. Both teams struggled at the free-throw line, with Boise State making just 12-of-21 attempts and San Diego State shooting 6-for-11 on the night. San Diego State made its fifth-consecutive title game but fell short in the final seconds. They were led by two players, which scored 33 of their 52 points. Matt Bradley (6'4''-G-1999) had his best game of the tournament, putting up 17 points and seven rebounds while Lamont Butler Jr. (6'0''-PG) tallied 16 points. The game could not have been tighter, going down to the final seconds there were 13 total lead changes. The biggest lead of the night was five as neither team was able to separate from the other the whole game. The first half was back and forth seeing seven lead changes with the biggest lead being four. Neither team gave any headway to the other going into the break with the Broncos up three, 28-25. San Diego State found success working the ball inside in the first half, with 12 offensive rebounds and 12 points in the paint. The Aztecs were led by their big man Nathan Mensah (6'10''-F), who had nine first-half rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. The Broncos ended on a 5:42 scoring drought going into the half. Boise State was once again led by Akot, who had the most points at the half with 10 points. Degenhart added his own nine points all coming from the perimeter. The Aztecs regrouped at halftime and came out shooting better through the opening minutes of the second half. They went on a small scoring run but Boise State never let up. The whole second half the two couldn't separate at all as it came down to the final possession. The Aztecs down by just one point had a few chances to secure the victory but couldn't find the bottom of the net as the buzzer rang. 'We do something in practice called the perfect possession where we have to get one stop and get the rebound and that's what we had to do down the stretch,' said Degenhart on their late-game defense. 'We've done it so many times in practice that we just knew what to do when it came time to do it.' The 2022 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship featured nine of the 10 games being decided by single digits, including the last eight games of the tournament. That is the most in Mountain West tournament history. MWC Tournament Final: Boise St. - San Diego State 53-52 MWC Tournament Semifinals: Boise St. - Wyoming 68-61 Colorado St. - San Diego State 58-63 Courtesy of themw.com All-MWC Awards 2022 - Mar 13, 2022
All-Tournament MVP:  Abu Kigab (6'7''-F-1998) of Boise StatePlayer of the Year:  David Roddy (6'5''-G/F) of Colorado StateDefensive Player of the Year:  Nathan Mensah (6'10''-F) of San Diego StateFreshman of the Year: Tyson Degenhart (6'7''-F) of Boise StateNewcomer of the Year: Matt Bradley (6'4''-G-1999) of San Diego StateSixth Man of the Year:  Chad Baker (6'7''-F-2000) of San Diego StateCoach of the Year: Leon Rice of Boise State
First Team David Roddy (6'5''-G/F) of Colorado State Orlando Robinson (7'0''-F) of Fresno State Matt Bradley (6'4''-G-1999) of San Diego State Bryce Hamilton (6'4''-G-2000) of UNLV Hunter Maldonado (6'6''-G) of Wyoming
Second Team Abu Kigab (6'7''-F-1998) of Boise State Marcus Shaver Jr. (6'2''-G-1998) of Boise State Isaiah Stevens (6'0''-PG) of Colorado State Justin Bean (6'7''-F) of Utah State Graham Ike (6'10''-C/F) of Wyoming
Third Team Desmond Cambridge Jr. (6'4''-G) of Nevada Grant Sherfield (6'2''-G-1999) of Nevada Jaelen House (6'2''-G-2001) of New Mexico Jamal Mashburn Jr. (6'3''-PG) of New Mexico Brandon Horvath (6'10''-F/G) of Utah State
Honorable Mention AJ Walker (6'2''-G) of Air Force Emmanuel Akot (6'8''-G/F-1999) of Boise State Tyson Degenhart (6'7''-F) of Boise State Nathan Mensah (6'10''-F) of San Diego State Omari Moore (6'6''-G) of San Jose State Royce Hamm Jr. (6'9''-F-1999) of UNLV
All-Defensive Team Abu Kigab (6'7''-F-1998) of Boise State Orlando Robinson (7'0''-F) of Fresno State Lamont Butler Jr. (6'0''-PG) of San Diego State Nathan Mensah (6'10''-F) of San Diego State Justin Bean (6'7''-F) of Utah State
All-Tournament Team Abu Kigab (6'7''-F-1998) of Boise State Emmanuel Akot (6'8''-G/F-1999) of Boise State David Roddy (6'5''-G/F) of Colorado State Matt Bradley (6'4''-G-1999) of San Diego State Nathan Mensah (6'10''-F) of San Diego State |
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