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Wednesday, February 4, 2015.
These Broncos have become closers. Boise State pulled out of a 60-60 tie with less than three minutes remaining last night to register a 68-63 win at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan. It was the Broncos’ first-ever win on USU’s home floor in 19 tries. They got it done without Derrick Marks—and with Derrick Marks. The senior star picked up his second foul less than six minutes into the game and sat on the bench the rest of the half. Then in the second half, Marks scored 17 of his 23 points and was, of course, clutch down the stretch. The game-changing sequence came with 2½ minutes left when Marks hit a stupendous three-pointer from about 35 feet out—then made a steal and fed the ball to James Webb III for a thunder dunk and a 65-60 lead.
The flow of the game was odd, even beyond the 14 minutes Marks sat out in the first half. Boise State was living by the three-pointer early and didn’t even take a two-point shot over the first seven minutes. The Broncos didn’t make one until a layup by Igor Hadziomerovic with 8:19 left in the half. The trey has been their friend this season. Boise State is shooting a solid 44 percent from beyond the arc for the season—and they shot 44 percent from long range last night, making 11 three-pointers. Nick Duncan was a case in point. Here’s a 6-8 forward who went 0-for-3 inside…and stepped out to go 5-for-10 on three-point attempts.
Utah State came into the game leading the all-time series against Boise State 30-9. The Aggies had won eight of the last nine against the Broncos and had one of the top 10 all-time homecourt winning percentages in the country at 89 percent. And the Spectrum, with its rabid and well-educated fan base (numbering 9,378 last night), was already a tough enough place to play. Now things are getting emotional there for retiring USU coach Stew Morrill as the home stretch of the season approaches. BSU was able to block all that out and finish, extending its winning streak to six and pulling to within a game of first place in the Mountain West. The Boise State-San Diego State game Sunday at Taco Bell Arena couldn’t be set up any better now. It’s a 4 p.m. tipoff. Let me repeat that: a 4 p.m. tipoff.
It’s always interesting to get an outside perspective on Bronco football, and I’ve been saving this one for National Letter of Intent Day. In the days leading up to the Fiesta Bowl, Jon Gold of the Arizona Daily Star was curious about how the uncommon chemistry is developed on Boise State’s roster and wrote a story about it, headlined, “Boise State recruits with one rule: no jerks.” The Broncos’ process, as it was explained to Gold by coach Bryan Harsin: “Will this guy fit in? Can he be on time? Does he want to graduate? Does he love football?” Gold’s takeaway was that it comes down to one big question. Is the kid a jerk? “A guy could be a four-star, and our guys don’t like him—if they don’t like them, we don’t like him,” said offensive line coach Scott Huff. “He’s out.”
Gold writes, “Much like at Arizona, the Bronco (players) have ownership of their roster. Their opinions matter. It is sought, primarily from those who have hosted him, who have hung with him, who have seen him in the light of day and the dark of night. ‘That’s what keeps it running,’ tight end Jake Roh said. ‘It’s all been passed down—how it should be done, how players should act.’”
Sawyer Shields’ dad, Mickey of Mickey Ray’s Restaurant fame, bleeds red first. Mickey’s an Arkansas Razorback through and through. But he bleeds blue second, and now Sawyer will bleed blue first. Shields, the Eagle High star, has accepted a preferred walk-on offer at Boise State. According to BroncoCountry.com, Shields will come in as a fullback/H-back/tight end combo. Running back Tyus Zimmerman of Timberline High, the son of former Bronco tight end Bernie Zimmerman, is also aboard as a preferred walk-on. And KTVB’s Jay Tust reported last night that Bishop Kelly linebacker Will Heffner, son of former Boise State wide receiver Terry Heffner, will fill another preferred walk-on slot.
It behooves us to look at Henri Kiviaho’s profile this season as the Idaho Steelheads prepare to host the Utah Grizzlies tonight in CenturyLink Arena. Kiviaho could be the Steelheads’ starting goalie for up to the next four weeks while Olivier Roy recovers from an undisclosed lower body injury. Kiviaho is 5-5-1 with a 3.11 goals-against average this season while spelling Roy between the pipes. “He has struggled to find his groove this season,” said Ralph on Idaho SportsTalk yesterday. “So this is a great opportunity for him.” At 6-4, Kiviaho has a big wing span at his disposal.
Ah, South Dakota in the winter. The ECHL has realigned its divisions for the 2015-16 season to compensate for the coming departure of the Bakersfield, Ontario and Stockton franchises to the AHL. The Rapid City Rush, currently in the Central Division, will join the Steelheads, Alaska Aces, Colorado Eagles and Utah Grizzlies in the West Division. Hopefully the Steelheads’ entire 72-game schedule won’t be made up of the four West Division opponents. There’ll be 14 teams in the Western Conference next season, and eight of them will make the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
It's frustrating enough to have dropped 24 of your last 25 games. It's doubly so when you come close to victory. The Idaho Stampede led Delaware by five points on Jerrelle Benimon's layup with 1:36 left in the game last night. Benimon, who led the Stamps with 22 points, had scored six straight to fuel the surge. But they wouldn't score again in a 112-107 loss to the 87ers that saw 13 lead changes and 10 ties. The weary Stampede play at Grand Rapids tonight.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzow’s!
February 4, 2001: Miami fan Jimmy Buffett is kicked out of a Heat game for using profanity during a 103-100 overtime loss to the Knicks. Referee Joe Forte claimed he didn’t know who Buffett was. When Miami coach Pat Riley tried to explain to the ref how Buffett’s followers are called “parrot heads,” Forte thought Riley was calling him a “parrot head,” and slapped him with a technical foul.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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