DENVER—Denver’s fast start and strong finish were too much for Boise State.
Brian Stafford scored 18 points, Chris Udofia added 17 and the Pioneers beat the Broncos 79-62 on Saturday night.
Justin Coughlin had 11 points and Rob Lewis 10 for the Pioneers.
Anthony Drmic led Boise State (8-3) with 14 points and Derrick Marks added 13.
Denver (8-2) led by 19 when Drmic’s 3-pointer sparked a Boise State rally. Westly Perryman hit another 3-pointer and had a layup and Drmic hit two free throws to make it 58-48 with 3:57 left.
After Chase Hallam’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 61-48, the Broncos hit four free throws and Perryman’s steal and layup made it 61-54 with 2:38 left.
“We knew we were going to win, we just had to keep our heads straight and be calm and break the press,” Udofia said.
Stafford hit a 3-pointer as Denver went on a 12-2 run to put the game away.
“They had put in a couple of baskets in a row and that might have demoralized them a little bit,” Stafford said of his 3-pointer.
The Broncos averaged 84.8 points a game during their five-game winning streak but have struggled offensively in dropping two straight. Boise State has averaged just 53.8 points in the losses.
“We’re a young team and part of that’s playing a lot of home games early,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said.
The Broncos came into Saturday sixth in the nation in 3-point field goals at 9.8 per game and were 0-for-6 from beyond the arc before Drmic drained their first with 7:40 left.
“We made them play the way we wanted,” Denver coach Joe Scott said. “Overall our defense was good. We did a good job on (Perryman), who’s the key to their team, and because of that it enabled us to a good job on their 3-point shooters.”
Udofia scored nine early points as the Pioneers raced out to an 11-0 lead they never surrendered.
“I felt they were playing lax on me and I had a lot of space,” Udofia said. “I felt it would hurt the team if I didn’t take the shots and it got our team off to a good start.”
Boise State had only nine points with 9:07 left in the first half but was still close after a basket by Kenny Buckner made it 17-11.
Denver slowly pulled away the rest of the half. Hallam hit a 3-pointer and Travis Hallam followed with a layup to make it 24-13. The lead grew to 15 on Stafford’s jumper, and the Pioneers led 36-22 at halftime.
“I think our guys were ready to play and we got some easy baskets,” Scott said.
Brett Olson’s 3-pointer with 14:27 left pushed the lead to 44-27 and Royce O’Neal’s layup with 8:25 left gave Denver a 54-35 lead.
