Broncos pacify Lions in L.A.

Final: Boise State 80, Loyola-Marymount 79

It was a back-and-forth affair in Los Angeles tonight as the Broncos took on Loyola-Marymount, and the Broncos were able to do enough in the first half to surge ahead at the break, taking a 49-42 lead into the locker room. As is their custom, the Broncos had trouble hanging on down the stretch, even though they rode a 13-2 run late in the game to take a 12-point lead with 3:30 to play. The Lions of Loyola-Marymount roared back with under 2 to play and drew within 1 point with the Broncos hoping to extend the lead. A Chandler Hutchison missed layup allowed LMU to finish with the ball. Nick Duncan forced a missed jumper from the baseline, but when freshman Jessup came down with the rebound, it was determined his foot was out of bounds and LMU was given the benefit of nearly two seconds on the clock to take another swing at the Broncos.

Thankfully, heartbreak was not on the menu once again for Boise State, and LMU squandered their second chance and fell to the Broncos 80-79. As expected, Chandler Hutchison led all scorers with 17 points, but got some help from senior James Reid (10) and freshman Justinian Jessup (13), who is looking less and less like a fluke with each passing game. I mean, observe the youngster applying some posterization.

The Broncos out-rebounded the Lions 30-27, and the teams shot very similar percentage from the floor (58% to 52%)...the biggest discrepancy of the night was that the Broncos shot 22 free-throws but sent LMU to the charity strip just 6 times. No home-cooking tonight from the refs, and the Broncos move to 5-4 on the year. Full stats are below.