Dec. 7, 2005
Final Stats
Moscow, ID --- It wasn't quite as big a comeback, but it was every bit as impressive. Idaho State, trailing by 13 in the first half, held Idaho scoreless over the final 5:23 of the first half and the first 3:22 of the second, slowly pulling away to equal their longest winning streak over the past 11 years as the Bengals defeated the Vandals 78-71.
With the win, the Bengals won their fifth straight, and improved to 5-1 for the first time since the 1994-95 season. The win also ended a 10-game road losing streak, and it was ISU's first win in Moscow since a 66-62 win over the Vandals on February 10, 1996.
The Bengals also swept both Boise State and Idaho for the second straight season. The back-to-back season sweeps are the first for the Bengals since ISU swept both schools in the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons. All three teams were members of the Big Sky back then, and played each other home and away.
The Bengals trailed the entire first half, and were down 13 at 31-18 with 6:47 left. After a Vandal basket at the 5:28 mark, they led 33-21, but the Bengals went on an 8-0 run to end the half to cut the Vandal lead to 33-29 at the break. Idaho State then scored the first seven points of the second half for a back-breaking 15-0 run, and the Bengals never trailed after that.
"We really jumped on it in the first three or four possessions of the second half," said head coach Doug Oliver. "I thought the kids played, as they usually do, really hard."
ISU eventually pushed the lead to 11 at 66-55 with 5:30 left after a David Schroeder jumper, but Idaho cut it to three late. Tim Henry however, answered with a jump shot with 1:09 left to make it 74-69, and then Slim Millien put the exclamation mark on the game with a follow-up dunk with 35.4 seconds left.
The road win and the five-game winning streak certainly had head coach Doug Oliver in high spirits. "I'm just really excited for the kids. Idaho had us back on our heels at the beginning. It was a physical ballgame and we had to change to adapt to the style of the game. We were lucky at the end of the half that we made a little run to keep things close."
The five-game winning streak equals the five-game streak that ISU mustered in December of 2002. Tim Henry led the Bengals with 18 points, including 14 in the second half. David Schroeder and Slim Millien each added 14 points, and Logan Kinghorn had 10. Kasey Winters led ISU with seven rebounds and four blocks.
ISU outrebounded Idaho 45-38, their fifth straight game in which they outrebounded their opponents. The Bengals also committed just 10 turnovers, but were credited with only nine assists.
