Dec. 9, 2006
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- David Schroeder continued his hot shooting with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and he grabbed 11 rebounds, combining with Akbar Abdul-Ahad's 13 points and 11 assists and the Bengals rolled behind their two senior guards to a 76-49 win over UC Davis at Holt Arena in front of a second straight large crowd.
The Bengals shot the ball well in Holt for the second straight night, hitting .588 from the field and .526 from three-point land. The Bengals played the stifling brand of defense that was head coach Joe O'Brien's trademark, limiting Davis to only .333 from the field.
UC Davis opened a 9-5 lead at the 13:28 mark of the first half, but from there on, it was all Idaho State. Schroeder scored five straight points for ISU to tie it at 10, and Abdul-Ahad hit a baseline jumper to give ISU the lead for good. The Bengals went on a crushing 22-5 run over a 12:12 span of the first half, punctuated by a perfect alley-oop from Abdul-Ahad to Donnie Carson to make it 27-14.
Down 13, the Aggies made a run in the second half, and a C.J. Portz jumper cut the lead to eight at 41-33 at the 12:52 mark, but the Bengals responded with a Schroeder three, and Matt Stucki jumper, another three by Abdul-Ahad, and then a dunk by Austin Kilpatrick, and all of a sudden it was 51-33 just three minutes later. ISU eventually pushed the lead all the way to 29 before the final settled at 76-49.
ISU's solid defensive night made life miserable for Davis' leading scorer Vince Oliver, as he went 0-for-9 from the field, and 0-for-6 from the three-point line.
The main story lines for the Bengals were Schroeder and Abdul-Ahad. Schroeder tied his season-high of 11 rebounds, and he recorded his third career double-double, and it was his second straight 20-point game. For Abdul-Ahad, it marked his first double-double, and after playing his first 33 career games without ever recording double-figure assists, he now has done that in back-to-back games.
The win pushed Idaho State's record to 4-5 overall, and 3-0 at home. The Bengals also have their first two-game win streak of the season. Idaho State now gets the week off for Finals Week on campus, and then ISU will travel to take on the University of Oregon on Sunday evening at 6:05 pm Mountain Time.
NOTES: Abdul-Ahad has 23 assists and just six turnovers in the last two games, and Schroeder was 17-for-24 from the field and 11-for-14 from three-point range during the week ... the last time ISU won back-to-back games over Division I teams by 20 points or more was in 1985, when ISU defeated Northern Arizona 88-56, and U.S. International 95-53 ... all 11 players for Idaho State scored at least one field goal.
