‘Inadvertent whistle’ leaves Boise State reeling after home loss to Colorado State
Colorado State’s locker room celebration was loud enough that the Rams’ shouts could be heard through closed doors deep within the recesses of ExtraMile Arena.
A Quadrant 1 victory on the home court of the Mountain West’s first-place team certainly warranted such a ruckus.
The Rams knocked the Boise State men’s basketball team out of first in the conference with a 77-74 overtime victory Sunday afternoon at ExtraMile Arena.
Colorado State junior forward David Roddy scored the go-ahead putback with 29 seconds left and blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer from Boise State’s Marcus Shaver Jr. to secure the win.
“They just kept reaching deeper and deeper to give us more,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said of his team. “I don’t remember when I’ve been more proud of a team. We’re all disappointed that it ended the way it ended, and that’s a tough one. But there’s not much more they could have done. It comes down to one play, really, here or there.”
Sunday’s finish wasn’t without controversy.
After Shaver sank yet another clutch 3-pointer to tie the score at 67, Colorado State (20-3, 10-3 MW) got the ball back with 8.3 seconds left in regulation.
Boise State’s Abu Kigab came up with a steal and began to dribble downcourt when he collided with Colorado State’s Isaiah Stevens, who had just committed the turnover.
Official Randy McCall blew his whistle, but it was unclear if the call was a foul on Stevens, out of bounds on Kigab or possibly a double dribble.
The officials went to the monitor and it appeared they were prepared to award the basketball to Colorado State. But the deliberation continued and ultimately the Broncos were given the ball with 1.6 seconds left after what the officials said was an “inadvertent whistle.”
Had the officials determined Stevens fouled Kigab, it would have sent the Boise State fifth-year senior to the free-throw line for a one-and-one opportunity and a chance to win the game.
“I think initially they thought it was out, and then they went to the monitors and they changed it to an inadvertent whistle,” said Boise State’s Max Rice, who started his third straight game in place of injured Emmanuel Akot. “Whenever he blew his whistle, that’s what they switched the clock to, which is why we got 1.6 (seconds) instead of 1.5 or whatever.
“I haven’t seen (the replay) yet. It’s a veteran crew that we had, so I wouldn’t question their calls or anything like that.”
Referee John Higgins provided an official statement about the controversial play at the end of regulation.
“Randy McCall thought Abu Kigab went out of bounds, and blew his whistle,” Higgins said. “By rule, with less than two minutes remaining, I called for a review. It was determined that Kigab did not go out of bounds. At that point it becomes an inadvertent whistle.”
Boise State nearly pulled off the victory in regulation anyway, but Kigab’s baseline jumper at the buzzer bounced off the rim and out, sending the game to overtime.
Colorado State’s Chandler Jacobs and Max Rice each scored their respective team’s first six points in extra time, leaving the game knotted at 73 with 1:08 on the clock.
That’s when Roddy came up with the go-ahead putback for Colorado State, and Boise State freshman Tyson Degenhart couldn’t get his turnaround hook shot to fall on the other end. Boise State’s Mladen Armus was fouled while bringing down an offensive rebound, and he went to the free-throw line with 7.5 seconds left for a one-and-one opportunity.
Although the Serb came into the game shooting just 39% from the line this season, he made the first shot and missed his second. Stevens corralled the rebound for Colorado State, and the Broncos immediately fouled with the Rams in the bonus.
Stevens sank both freebies with 4.8 seconds left, and Shaver attempted a 3-pointer just past the halfcourt line, which Roddy blocked and then batted away a second time before throwing both arms in the air in celebration.
“It was a tough battle between two teams that I think are definitely postseason teams, NCAA Tournament teams,” Max Rice said. “We’re gonna hang our heads for a little bit, but we know we’ve got to bounce back Wednesday, and that’s what a tournament team would do. We’ve just got to keep our heads up and keep going.”
Shaver and Max Rice each notched 17 points for the Broncos, Degenhart chipped in with 16 points and Armus added 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Roddy led all scorers with 18 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Broncos (19-6, 10-2 MW) continue Mountain West play with a trip to Air Force. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday at Clune Arena in USAFA, Colorado, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1, or listen on the radio on 670 AM.
COLORADO ST. 77, BOISE ST. 74 (OT)
COLORADO ST. (20-3, 10-3, MW)
Thomas 1-5 0-0 3, Moore 3-6 0-0 8, Stevens 5-11 4-4 14, Tonje 3-10 0-0 7, Roddy 7-12 3-3 18, Jacobs 5-8 4-4 16, Moors 4-4 0-0 8, Lake 0-1 0-0 0, Rivera 1-1 0-0 3, Thistlewood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 11-11 77.
BOISE ST. (19-6, 10-2 MW)
Armus 5-12 1-2 11, Degenhart 6-12 0-0 16, Kigab 3-10 1-2 8, Rice 5-13 4-4 17, Shaver 6-13 1-2 17, Kuzmanovic 1-4 0-0 2, N.Smith 1-1 0-0 3, Milner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 7-10 74.
Halftime—Colorado St. 39-37. 3-Point Goals—Colorado St. 8-26 (Jacobs 2-4, Moore 2-4, Rivera 1-1, Thomas 1-3, Roddy 1-5, Tonje 1-5, Lake 0-1, Stevens 0-3), Boise St. 13-24 (Degenhart 4-4, Shaver 4-7, Rice 3-7, N.Smith 1-1, Kigab 1-5). Rebounds—Colorado St. 29 (Roddy, Jacobs 7), Boise St. 31 (Armus, Rice 8). Assists—Colorado St. 11 (Stevens 5), Boise St. 18 (Kigab, Shaver 5). Total Fouls—Colorado St. 12, Boise St. 14. A—6,684 (12,480).
