Jan. 11, 2007
Final Stats |
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Pocatello, ID --- In a game where Rodney Stuckey was supposed to be the show, fans and Eastern Washington got a big dose of the "O'Brien's Razor" defense and Matt Stucki, as ISU's sophomore had a season-high 18 points and eight rebounds as the Bengals held the nation's fifth-highest scoring team to nearly 20 points below their average in a solid 78-65 win.
The Bengals (8-8, 3-0) who never trailed in the game, held the high-flying Eagle offense to only 23 points in the opening half, and just 17 through the first 18:32 of the half. Idaho State held Eastern to just 3-of-11 from the field early, and just 8-of-24 in the first half as the Bengals built up a 19-point lead at one point on the way to a 36-23 halftime edge.
The Eagles attempted to solve "The Razor", and get Stuckey, who was averaging 23.3 points coming into the game, more into the offense after a six-point first half. They did so moving him to the free throw line, and he did score more, and his layup with 11:15 in transition made it 50-44 with 11:15 left, but the Bengals would respond to the challenge. John Ofoegbu, who had another outstanding performance with 13 points and four rebounds, hit a free throw, then a three-point play in succession to move the lead back to 10.
After Eastern's Paul Butorac answered with a basket, Nick Rhodes grabbed a rebound and muscled home a shot for an 11-point lead, and Eastern would never get close than 60-52 after that on a Marcus Hinton three with 4:23 left. In the final 2:22, the Eagles sent the Bengals to the line 16 times, and ISU went 14-of-16 to put any thoughts of a comeback at bay.
But the story of the day was the defense, as O'Brien's Razor held the Eagles to just 65 points, three short of their lowest previous point total, when they scored 68 in a loss to Santa Clara. Eastern was coming off a 109-101 loss at Northern Arizona on Saturday night. Eastern shot just .385 from the field, well below their .492 average coming into the contest, and they hit just 6-of-29 threes. The Bengals outrebounded the Eagles 34-29 as well.
"The game plan was very similar to the game plan's in the past," said head coach Joe O'Brien, who has led ISU to a 3-0 conference start for the first time in 11 years. "There's no secret that Eastern Washington is a high-scoring team and a transition-oriented team, and the challenge on the board was are they going to get their 85 or are we going to hold them to our 56, and I think we won that battle."
ISU's scoring came from all over, with Stucki dropping in his 18 off the bench. David Schroeder had 17, but none more important personally to him than his basket with 3:47 left in the first half, which made him the 17th Bengal to ever surpass the 1,000-point mark.
"It's cool. I mean it's not a record," said Schroeder. "A lot of people have done it before, but it's neat. It's probably something I'll tell my grandkids about, or maybe try to get a date with."
Along with Schroeder and Stucki, Akbar Abdul-Ahad had 16, including 8-of-9 from the line, and Ofoegbu had 13. The Bengals hit 22-of-29 foul shots, and they shot .472 from the field. For Eastern, Stuckey had 17, Marcus Hinton had 13 (including 10-for-10 from the line), and Butorac had 10. Stuckey committed six of Eastern's 11 turnovers.
The Bengals now will try to go to 4-0 for the first time in 12 years, plus move over .500 overall for the first time this year when ISU takes on Northern Colorado at 7:05 pm on Saturday night in Holt Arena. UNC is 3-14 overall and 1-4, winning their first conference game 88-86 over Northern Arizona. That game is TRiO Book Drive night, as adults bringing a book to the game can puchase an adult ticket for the price of a child's ticket.
NOTES: Schroeder actually moved into 16th place on the career scoring list with his 17 points, and he needs 11 to move all the way into 14th ... a moment of silence was observed prior to the game in memory of former ISU athlete, coach and athletic director Dubby Holt, and ISU's wore a black patch on their shoulder with the initials D.H. in his honor ... Nick Rhodes had another solid outing with eight points and seven rebounds ... Abdul-Ahad, who is ranked 12th nationally in percentage of minutes played, played all 40 minutes, as did David Schroeder ... the crowd of 3,304 was the highest of the season ... the game marked the debut of a new three-camera system used exclusively for www.bigskytv.org broadcasts, which featured graphics and replays for fans.
Post Game Press Conference Video Highlights
Head coach Joe O'Brien
Sophomore Matt Stucki
Senior David Schroeder
