What head coach Leon Rice said about Boise State’s latest blowout victory

The Boise State men’s basketball team pulled away in the second half on Tuesday to secure an 89-58 Mountain West road victory over San Jose State.

The Broncos held a narrow 36-33 lead at halftime but outscored the Spartans 53-25 after the break.

“The difference in our team right now, and the difference in our team compared to some of these other teams, has been our depth,” head coach Leon Rice said. “It’s the time of year where a lot of teams are getting tired, and we had seen that on tape with (San Jose State). They were hanging with us … and we just felt like if we could keep going, keep going, we were going to wear down their defense a little bit and start getting to the rim. And that’s what we did in the second half.”

It was the fourth straight win for the Broncos (13-8, 5-5), who are back to .500 in MWC play. San Jose State (6-15, 1-9) has dropped four in a row.

Drew Fielder led Boise State with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Andrew Meadow added 15 points and five boards while Dylan Andrews, Bhan Buom and Pearson Carmichael all finished with 11 points.

The Broncos out-rebounded San Jose State 39-20 while shooting 59 percent (33 of 56) from the floor.

Here are the highlights from Rice’s postgame radio interview.

On improved bench play

“Over-taxed is mental. When every night your starters have to play 32 to 35 (minutes), it does wear you down, mentally a lot more than physically. Because we manage their physical pretty good, but … you’ve seen it with Drew. When we’re able to get him subs, he comes back in better. You keep those guys fresh during a game, and they’re better.”

“Our team needs this, and it’s paying off. It’s giving us energy and excitement, and our practices have been great because of that because you’ve got two teams that can really compete in practice. They’re all taking a lot of pride in it.”

On Bhan Buom’s improvement

“Every team is different, and I kind of had to figure this out. Bhan was being a pinch-hitter, like ‘Go in for Meadow and just don’t turn it over, don’t do (this or that).’ He’s not a good player if (you ask him to do that). He’s got to be aggressive, and you saw that tonight. And when he’s been aggressive, he’s been really good.”