Cowboys up next for Bronco men’s hoops; see SDSU’s final shot

Chase Tapley game-winner

The Boise State men’s basketball team lost its third heartbreaker in as many games against the San Diego State Aztecs on Wednesday when Chase Tapley hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left to give the home team a 63-62 win.

Last February in San Diego, Thomas Bropleh’s attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer in a 58-56 loss, while in March, Jamaal Franklin made a 3-pointer as time expired to win 65-62 in the Mountain West tournament.

The game was not the easiest to find on television for Boise State fans, as it was on a channel available locally only on DirecTV. An enterprising YouTuber posted it for all to see above. Tapley’s fake to get Derrick Marks out of his face was the subtle move that made it happen.

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Next up for the Broncos is a home date at Taco Bell Arena against Wyoming at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Of course, the last time the Broncos and Cowboys faced off, it was Boise State delivering the gut punch when Jeff Elorriaga hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win.

“It’s Mountain West basketball, I guess we can hang our heads about six hours here, then our guys have to move on and get ready to compete against Wyoming, because Wyoming’s a really good basketball team,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said on KBOI 670 AM after the game.

The Cowboys (16-6, 2-6) defeated Cal State-Bakersfield 61-53 on Wednesday in a nonconference game. Boise State (75.2 points per game) leads the Mountain West in scoring, while Wyoming (62.2) is eighth, certainly not aided by the absence of suspended guard Luke Martinez. However, the Cowboys have played excellent defense, yielding 55.2 points per game, tops in the conference.