BSU Coach Leon Rice: “That Could’ve Been A Riot At Halftime”
Boise State Basketball's road to the Mountain West Conference championship took an unusual bounce last night, losing to New Mexico Friday night in Albuquerque 81-79. The Broncos never faded despite a sold-out 'Pit' of over 14,000 Lobo fans.
However, what happened off the court has the usual pleasant, easy-going Leon Rice up in arms. Rice told the media that his team was involved in a pushing incident with the New Mexico Baseball team. He says the team had to run through a gauntlet of Lobos to get to the basketball court.
"We had to run through their baseball team, and it got physical a little bit, Rice revealed in a post-game news conference. The incident left was something the coach hadn't seen in his vast years of coaching experience. "I've coached for thirty-five years, and that was one of the like worst situations we've been in halftime."
A quick look at Leon Rice.
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Coach Rice wants the Mountain West to investigate why the baseball team was allowed to be in their area. He went on to say that he believed it was on purpose. The New Mexico Administration apologized to the Broncos, according to Coach Rice. He was concerned that the situation could've gotten worse.
"That could've been a riot," he said. He continued saying the Lobos got in the face of the Broncos, and it was all poorly handled.
The coach gave credit to his players for showing restraint. He believed it could've ended in a brawl if he had some of his past players in New Mexico.
You can hear the entire interview below courtesy of Bronco Nation News.
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