Boise, ID (CBS2) — On Thursday, March 16 the Boise State Broncos Men's team took on the Northwestern Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Sacramento California.

The Broncos lost 67 - 75 to the Wildcats.

The Broncos trailed from the start going into the second half down by seven, they fought to close the gap briefly tying the game early in the second but were unable to take the lead.

Northwestern outmaneuvered the Broncos and held the lead beating them by nine points in the end knocking Bosie State out of the tournament.

"They came on strong. Even at half time they weren't that far behind, and at one point, they caught up. I think the sense was that they just didn't get their rhythm. Particularly with some of the three points in the throws. They could of done a better job, but they did the best they could. We're still really proud of them," said Catherine Didion, a Boise State Bronco fan.

Max Rice led for the top scorer on the Broncos with 17 points. The second runner-up is Naje Smith with 14 points. Marcus Shaver Jr. and Chibuzo Agbo Jr. tied for 12 points. And last but not least, Lukas Milner scored 4 points for the Broncos.

While fans were disappointed in the loss, they were happy the team put up a good fight.

"We did win. We won in our own way. We were totally strong out there and I'm just super proud of our guys," said SuChen Gee.

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