What Tyson Degenhart said after Boise State’s College Basketball Crown victory over George Washington

Broncos open first-year tournament by routing George Washington, 89-59

Boise State Broncos forward Tyson Degenhart. | Brian Losness-Imagn Images

The Boise State men’s basketball team shook off a slow start at the inaugural College Basketball Crown to defeat George Washington, 89-59, in Monday’s opening-round game. 

The Broncos (25-10) trailed 9-3 at the under-12 TV timeout but rallied back to seize a 32-26 halftime lead. Boise State pulled away in the second half for an easy win over the Revolutionaries (21-13) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“We just had to get our legs underneath us from not playing for two weeks,” Broncos senior forward Tyson Degenhart said in his postgame FOX interview. “We did a great job moving the ball. We were really in the gaps causing 20-plus turnovers. We were able to turn that into offense, and we had a great night.”

Degenhart led the way for the Broncos with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Degenhart, the leading scorer in Boise State history, is sitting on 1,990 career points. 

Pearson Carmichael and Andrew Meadow added 15 points apiece for Boise State. Carmichael recorded a game-high six steals. 

The Broncos forced 22 turnovers and came away with 16 steals. 

Trey Autry paced George Washington, which finished in a tie for seventh place in the Atlantic 10 standings, with 16 points. 

Boise State advances to face Butler at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the College Basketball Crown quarterfinals. 

Here are the highlights from Degenhart’s postgame interview. 

On the long layoff

“We got to have a little time off with spring break. So no school, no basketball after Selection Sunday. And then we got right back to work. We just wanted to come down here … us seniors just wanted to have one last go-around, and just have a lot of fun and come out here and compete.”

On his Boise State legacy

“It’s crazy that I’m that close to 2,000 (points). I wasn’t able to get it in high school with COVID and everything. But my hope for my legacy is just to improve this program from the time I got here and hopefully continue to make it better into a powerhouse in college basketball.” 

On the team’s schedule leading up to the Crown

“We watched some film and did some offensive stuff on Saturday. We flew down Saturday, went to dinner. Sunday we had practice … and then did a walkthrough this morning. It’s been a good week here so far in Vegas, and we are hoping to keep it going.”