Feb. 28, 2004
Stats
Pocatello, ID -- Idaho State University, needing a win to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament, got just that as Marquis Poole scored the last of his 31 points on a driving layup with 6.3 seconds left, and then survived a last second runner by Danny Pariseau that rimmed out as the Bengals clinched the #3 seed with a 91-90 double-overtime win over regular season champion Eastern Washington.
The win was necessary for ISU as Weber State defeated Portland State 71-57 on Saturday night. ISU was in the tournament with a win by Portland State. The Bengals held the Big Sky's top shooting team to just .400 for the game from the field, while ISU shot .460 themselves.
The Bengals trailed 64-60 with five to go, but senior Scott Henry hit back-to-back layups to tie the game, and after a Brendan Merritt jumper, Arzelle Lewis's fifth three gave the Bengals a 67-66 lead. Marquis Poole hit two free throws, and then Alvin Snow answered with the last of his 25 points to make it 69-68 with 14.8 left. Poole was fouled and hit two more freebies to make it 71-68, but Eastern tied it on another improbable three-pointer against the Bengals, which they have made a habit of.
Marc Axton missed back-to-back layups right under the basket, and the ball bounded back to Josh Barnard near the three-point line. Barnard, Eastern's top three-point shooter, hadn't scored all game nursing a heel injury, but he jumped from beyond the three-point line towards the ball and flipped it up from his waist just before the buzzer. The ball bounded twice off the rim before rolling around and in to send it to overtime.
It marked the fourth time in the last five trips that Eastern Washington has hit a three-pointer with under 11.7 left, to either win the game or tie it and send it to overtime. Two of those shot were at the buzzer, including a 55-foot fall away hook shot by Ryan Hansen in 2000 for a 70-69 Eastern win.
ISU missed a chance to win in the first overtime as Poole missed a driving layup, and then Danny Pariseau missed a running 20-footer at the buzzer.
Up one in overtime, Eastern took a lead with 45 second left on a pair of Marc Axton free throws, but Scott Henry answered with two of his own to give ISU an 89-88 lead with 22.2 left. Pariseau then had a shot blocked by Henry, but his putback with 12.0 left gave Eastern a 90-89 lead, setting up Poole's final heroics.
Poole's 31 and eight assist led ISU against his former team, and on senior night Scott Henry added a double-double. Arzelle Lewis came up huge with a career-high six threes and a career his 18 points. Jeff Gardner added 11 for the Bengals.
