Jan. 16, 2003
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Pocatello, ID---Idaho State was outrebounded 37-22, none hurt more than the last one, as Montana's Steve Horne rebounded a Kevin Criswell missed three and hit a short five-foot jumper off the glass with no time left to give Montana a 90-88 win in a nail-biting Big Sky opener for the Bengals.
The shot spoiled a marvelous second half effort by the Bengals that saw ISU whittle an 11-point halftime deficit into a tie game with 35.9 seconds left. Idaho State started out strong, leading 8-6 early before a pair of Criswell free throws at 15:09 tied the game at eight, and Montana would never trail again.
The Griz eventually ballooned their lead to 49-36 before a Marquis Poole layup at the halftime buzzer made it 49-38 at the break. Whatever Doug Oliver said at the half worked as ISU bolted to a 12-2 run cut it to 51-50, but every time ISU got close, Montana went on a short run to give them some breathing room.
Idaho State cut the to 83-82 with 5:05 left on a Scott Henry layup. Horne hit two free throws at 4:04 to make it 85-82. Alvin Brooks and Marquis Poole each hit one-of two free throws, and it was 85-84 with 2:26 to go.
David Bell, a normally reliable free throw shooter, made just one of two, but Horne hit another jumper of a Criswell assist and it was 88-84 with 2:02 left.
Pool then hit two free throws, and after a Montana miss, the Bengals had a shot to tie when Rashad Kirkland lost the ball out of bounds with 43.2 left. Kirkland however made amends, stealing the ball from Bell and hitting a wide-open layup, setting the stage for Horne's heriocs.
Both teams were unreal from the field, with Montana shooting .569 from the field, and Idaho State shot .559 as well, including .621 in the second half. Four player on each team hit for double-figures, with Scott Henry leading ISU with 16 points. Alvin Brooks had 15, and Poole and David Schroeder each had 13. For Montana, Bell had 21 points, Criswell had 20, and Horne and Victor Venters each had 19.
