What Leon Rice said after Boise State defeats San Diego State in Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal

The Boise State men’s basketball team flexed its defensive muscles to earn a 62-52 comeback victory Thursday afternoon over San Diego State in a Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal.

The fifth-seeded Broncos (23-9) out-scored No. 4 San Diego State (21-9) by a 40-19 margin over the final 21 minutes and change at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“We’ve had a great history of battles with San Diego State, so we knew today would be no different,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said after the win. “That’s how these games go with these two teams. Great competitors on both teams, and our guys just kept scrapping and were tough enough to persist.

“Really, really proud of our effort. That was an intense basketball game.”

Here are the highlights from Rice’s postgame press conference.

On shooting 40 3-pointers, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds

“We’re one of the best two-point field goal teams (in the country). Our style did not match up with their style defensively, so we had to adjust, and we had to make that work. I think our target was between 36 and 50 3s. … Part of that was the offensive boards. You can’t shoot those if you’re going to stand around and watch them rebound it. We didn’t.

“That’s the way we had to beat them, and we knew it. We were not going to beat them going in there at the rim. They’re number one in the nation (in rim protection).”

On strong finish to first half

“They got a little distance there, and then we closed the gap right before half to be down five. The thing we talked about in the locker room is a game like this is not going to be won in the first half. They beat us to some balls that ended up being really costly. … In the second half, I think the play that summed up our effort and intensity was when I think 26 guys dove on the floor for both teams, and somehow our guys came up with it, and I think it ended up being an and-one on the other end for Andrew (Meadow).”

On underrated Mountain West basketball

“The only reason we’re not getting the national respect that we’ve gotten recently is because our numbers aren’t as high just because of the way the numbers are with some of the bottom (teams) that we played this year. And those numbers, there’s lies, there’s damn lies and there’s the NET. You get rewarded for winning by 50-some, all those kind of things factor into the numbers. I know what the eye test tells me about (San Diego State) and about us and about Colorado State and Utah State and New Mexico. These teams are as good as any that have been in this league.

“When we played New Mexico, it was a joke that they weren’t ranked. I mean, it was crazy. They had like three or four losses and were leading this league, so (the MWC) wasn’t getting the respect that it usually gets. Part of that is that we’re on the West Coast, part of that is a lot of people don’t see our late games, all those kind of things matter. But I’d stack these teams up against any in the country.”

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

‘It really felt like a war;’ What Boise State’s Andrew Meadow said after downing San Diego State in MWC Tournament

Owning the glass: 3 takeaways from Boise State’s Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal win over San Diego State

KenPom rankings: Boise State inside top 50 entering Mountain West Tournament

Mountain West Tournament betting odds: New Mexico narrow favorite to repeat

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