WSU drops Broncos with 60-point second half

By Tate Castleton The Arbiter

November 15, 2007

Boise, ID (CSTV U-WIRE) -- A tale of two halves spelled doom for the Boise State men's basketball team, who fell to the No. 9 Washington State Cougars 86-74, on Tuesday.

In front of nearly 7,000 fans in Taco Bell Arena, the Broncos were out to avenge a last minute loss in Pullman, Wash. last season. For the first 20 minutes it appeared they were serious.

BSU (1-1 overall, 0-0 WAC) jumped out to a 21-8 lead early thanks to ice-cold Cougar shooting and careless ball handling that led to easy baskets on the other end for BSU. WSU trailed 32-26 at the half, but showed signs of warming up in the closing minutes before halftime.

"We knew they wouldn't stay cold for long," BSU guard Anthony Thomas said. "They're too good a team to just lie down without a fight."

Tuesday night's bout with the Cougars was BSU's second straight home game to open the new season, but it was apparent that the Broncos were without a floor general and in search of some leadership on the floor.

"I think we showed that when we play hard we're awfully good," BSU Head Coach Greg Graham. "We need that leadership to step up, and that's the thing we need to look for a little bit."

The Broncos held sharp-shooting Derrick Low to just two first half points and managed to keep the WSU offense at bay, holding them to less than 30 points in the opening half. The second half was a completely different story.