By james art 
It was deja vu for the Boise State basketball team on Tuesday night. For the third time this season and second time in the last two weeks, a three-pointer in the final seconds put the Broncos down.
This time it was on the road in the state of Colorado.
After Boise State (13-7, 5-4 Mountain West) came back from a 17-point deficit against the Rams (12-7, 6-2) to enter the final possession of the game, a 72-72 tie contested by three by the Rams’ Jalen Lake with 3 seconds left only hit the net. A missed 3-pointer by Boise State senior guard Alvaro Cardenas at the buzzer handed the Broncos a 75-72 loss.
Two weeks ago, a last-second 3-pointer by Utah State sank the Broncos 81-79. Earlier this season, the Broncos lost 63-61 to Boston College in the Cayman Islands thanks to a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left by the Eagles.
“It sucks that we have three losses like that,” senior forward Tyson Degenhart told KBOI after the game. “We turn those three losses around, do a little bit to get that one offensive rebound and that one contest, and I think our season looks a little bit different.”
The season now looks challenging if Boise State hopes to make its fourth straight NCAA tournament. The Broncos fall out of any wide-area conversation and enter territory where their only path to March Madness is a Mountain West Tournament championship.
Degenhart continued to lead by example with his play as well, scoring a season-high and game-high 27 points. Cardenas scored 18 points, his second-best of the year. The only other scorer in double figures was Javan Buchanan off the bench with 11 points. Degenhart and Cardenas combined for 30 of the team’s 52 field goal attempts.
The loss marked Boise State’s third straight road trip. And while those losses came to the top three teams in the Mountain West standings — the Broncos were blown out 84-65 in New Mexico last week — it doesn’t leave much room for error going forward.
And like those losses at Utah State and New Mexico, Colorado State was uncharacteristically hot from beyond the arc.
The Rams entered the game ranked 258th in the nation in 3-point shooting, averaging 8.1 3-pointers per game on 32.2 percent shooting. But on Tuesday night, Colorado State started the game on 6-for-8 shooting en route to an 11-for-24 (45.8%) shooting night from three.
Utah State went 11-for-21 from three against Boise State, while New Mexico was an efficient 7-for-15.
“Our individual defense is not good enough,” Boise State head coach Leon Rice said. “What happens is they can just drive against us. And when you can just hit a guy, it breaks the defense because now you have to help. Also, (Colorado State) is a team that is really good at moving the ball and getting the open man.”
The two teams traded shots in the first 10 minutes before the Broncos experienced the first of several goal droughts. Colorado State quickly extended its lead from 38-29 at halftime to 56-39 eight minutes into the second half – with Boise State’s scoring drought exceeding 4 minutes playing a significant role.
But with the Broncos looking dead and buried, his senior leader stepped up. Degenhart scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half.
An 11-0 run for the Broncos was soon followed by an 8-0 run that brought Boise State closer to the Rams. So when a Cárdenas layup made it 70-69 in Colorado State’s favor, Moby Arena was pretty quiet. Degenhart put the game away with a 3-pointer to give the Broncos a 72-70 lead.
“They were great,” Rice said of Degenhart and Cardenas, who had three assists late in the game. “I was really proud of the fight we had. Because we have fighters and I just need to understand the rotation better.”
But Rams fans didn’t stay silent for long. Nick Clifford’s layup tied things at 72-all with 50 seconds left, and a Degenhart layup gave Colorado State possession with about 34 seconds left. Clifford’s inside pass set the stage for an offensive rebound and shot to Lake, who was on target.
Boise State elected to forgo its final timeout and go for an immediate play down the court, but Cardenas’ shot bounced twice at the rim before falling.
Rice said he didn’t want to call a timeout because that would have given the Rams a better option to foul on purpose to avoid giving up a 3-pointer.
The Broncos will now have a week off before hosting Nevada at ExtraMile Arena on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The usually good Wolfpack had an up and down season. They lost their first four conference games before winning three in a row before being beaten 90-69 by Utah State on Tuesday.
“I think it’s a good time (for a bye),” Degenhart said. “Nine conference games, we get to the point where you’re doing so much preparation for the other team that you really can’t (focus on yourself).
“But without a game this weekend … we can really focus on ourselves and get better in training,” he continued. “And I think you’ll see a new team on Wednesday.”