SOUTHWEST MAUI INVITATIONAL

November 24, 2025

Leon Rice

Pearson Carmichael

Javan Buchanan

Lahaina Civic Center

Boise State Broncos

Postgame Press Conference

USC 70, Boise State 67

LEON RICE: It was a heck of a battle. In a game like that, one play makes a difference. You can point to 10 different times that it was one play. But our guys just kept battling, kept staying in it, ended up taking the lead, and I thought there was a couple key possessions. Peanut had a dunk and I thought there was a lot of contact on that dunk. When we're up two, we didn't take advantage of those key possessions. I thought that was a big key.

Q. Javan, take us through the final play there. Got the look you wanted there?

JAVAN BUCHANAN: Yeah, it was a good look. They trusted me to take it. That's basketball.

Q. What are the emotions like after a game like that, back and forth and so many swing plays here and there and to see that shot miss and obviously what it means? Obviously another tough one tomorrow, how you process that one.

JAVAN BUCHANAN: You've just got to respond. You can't dwell on it. We've got another game tomorrow. That's the beauty of this game; you get to play again.

Q. For you just backing them down some, getting to the lane some, you had the big and-1 to tie the game. I mean, how much tonight did you really want to take over and be a force?

JAVAN BUCHANAN: The game just told me what to do and then I just made the plays I thought were necessary. So yeah, it was good.

Q. Peanut, what was it like for you out there? Hit a couple shots, kept going. Kind of a physical game. How did you feel out there?

PEARSON CARMICHAEL: I felt good. I thought our team was ready to battle and we battled. Just wasn't the outcome we wanted. I thought we played really hard and we were really prepared for that game.

Q. You were 5 of 25 from three. Were they doing something to not give you a lot of open looks?

PEARSON CARMICHAEL: Our team is a great shooting team. I trust everybody on the floor to shoot. Our coaches trust everybody. It just wasn't falling tonight. But I know that eventually, probably tomorrow, that our shots are going to fall.

Q. Both players, can you talk about what it's been like on Maui? Have you ever been here before? What's the experience been like island-wise as far as being here so far?

JAVAN BUCHANAN: It's fun. I'm from Indiana so ain't nothing like this I've ever been to. It's amazing.

PEARSON CARMICHAEL: This is my first time here and it's better than the pictures, I'll tell you that much. It's beautiful. Just really blessed to be here.

Q. Rice had 27 points and just seemed like he hit a lot of really big shots. What was so tough against him? And for them to go 11 of 23 from three overall as a team? Seemed like every time, as Coach was saying, you had a chance to extend it out they'd hit a huge three.

PEARSON CARMICHAEL: He's just a really experienced player. He's been everywhere and played in huge games. But I need to do a better job pressuring the ball and not letting him score 27. He's just a really talented player. Got to give him credit for that.

Q. Coach, you out-rebounded them, went toe to toe in a lot of key areas, just couldn't get enough shots to fall, especially from the outside.

LEON RICE: Yeah. I think the start of the game started out a little slow from the three line. Pretty excited to play. Probably some jitters there and shot selection was just okay.

Then as the game wore on we really did a good job of starting to get good looks, and then our percentage increased, and we had a couple rattle in and rattle out right in front of our bench. Drew had a good look. He's been making those. He was on balance. The thing rattled in and out.

The big difference in the game; they were 11 for 23; we were 5 for 25. But started out 1 for 12. That's hard to come back from that as far as your three-point percentage.

We'll look at the film and figure that out, but the biggest thing in a tournament like this, you don't have time to dwell on anything. I told our guys, you've got from here to the hotel to lick our wounds, feel bad about it, and then we've got to turn the page because you're playing a top-25 team tomorrow morning in less than 24 hours.

If you feel sorry for yourself and don't respond the right way quickly, that game is on you before you know it, and then you're like, wow, that would have been a great opportunity.

We're going to play a great team tomorrow. Like I said, that's why you come to these events, the beauty of that is you get to play NC State tomorrow right away.

Q. USC kept hitting huge shots and there was a couple times where you could have caved or could have got out of hand but you guys kept answering. I know there's no moral victories, but in terms of what you saw from your team that can help you moving forward?

LEON RICE: Yeah, we're doing some great stuff and we keep responding and we keep getting better when we're together. That's what I like about this team. There's a lot that we can keep getting better at.

Down the stretch, I thought we did a pretty darned good job executing some stuff. We got a foul on them without the clock moving. We made those free throws, we got an and-1 for Javan when we could have surrendered, but we came back and gave ourselves a chance to send it to overtime and then got good execution on our last-second play.

When he let that go right in front of me, I was like, that thing is on line and I thought it had a good chance.

But that's basketball, and you come here to keep getting better. You come here for these opportunities. Like I said, we've got to turn the page as quickly as we can, which is not easy, because our guys poured a lot into that. That was a hard-fought game against a Big Ten opponent that, a lot of respect from us and what he does. He's got some really, really good players.

It's a hard thing to do. It's easier said than done to just flip the switch and go on.

Q. I know you struggled from the three-point line but I think Javan led that pounding in the paint, using your size. They kind of made some adjustments. What did they do down the stretch that made it a little bit more difficult?

LEON RICE: Well, what I saw is I think it was key that they weren't in the bonus because then they were really, really physical with our guards, caused some turnovers. So I would have liked to have got them in the bonus a little earlier, and then now all of a sudden when they hand check and it's called, then you get -- it makes a big difference. I thought it made them more aggressive on the ball, and we lost a few balls that way, I thought.