Jan. 13, 2007
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Pocatello, ID --- Austin Kilpatrick and David Schroeder each dropped in 16 points apiece, but it was the "Razor" defense that led the way for Bengals as ISU held Northern Colorado to just .353 from the field and .333 from the three-point line as Idaho State improved to 9-8 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the conference as ISU took out conference newcomer Northern Colorado 70-60.
The game was not a picture perfect affair, with 42 fouls, two technicals, and 51 free throws prohibiting the game from flowing a little better, although both teams' defensive efforts had something to do with that as well. Idaho State shot just .444, their lowest output in four conference games.
The game saw 10 lead changes, including eight in a tight first half. The Bengals, who were down 17-13 with 9:31 to go, went on a 13-3 run, capped by a pair of Akbar Abdul-Ahad free throws with 5:13 left, but ISU went cold, going scoreless in seven straight possessions. UNC capped that off with a Darren Moore dunk after a steal by Sean Taibi with 49 seconds left to put the Bears (3-15, 1-5) up one, but David Schroeder drained a late three-pointer to put ISU up 29-27 at the break.
Jefferson Mason, who hit a basket with 10 seconds left to defeat NAU, gave UNC their last lead at 30-29 at the 19:12 mark, only to see ISU tie it on a Matt Stucki free throw, and then Bengals took the lead for good on a basket by Logan Kinghorn, who played just seven minutes before fouling out. Idaho State eventually got the lead up to 11, going on a 14-4 run after a technical foul on O'Brien, but Northern Colorado would not go away, cutting it back to five at 65-60 on Sean Taibi's three from the right arch with 1:14 left. Idaho State's Schroeder hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win for Idaho State.
"Absolutely no question defense won us the basketball game tonight," said head coach Joe O'Brien. "...and being a pretty good rebounding team sealed it." He added in regards to ISU's scoring becoming a little more spread out, "We're getting four guys scoring in double figures, and we're not relying on David and Akbar to carry the load every night, and those are all good things."
The Bengals were led by the tandem of Austin Kilpatrick and Schroeder, who each had 16. Kilpatrick's 16 was a career-high and it came one game after Matt Stucki jumped up for 18 against Eastern Washington. John Ofoegbu had another superb game with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Abdul-Ahad scored 11.
"His best game here by far. The boy shoots the basketball with a great deal of confidence," said O'Brien of Kilpatrick's clutch performance.
Northern Colorado got 15 from Sean Taibi, and 11 from All-Scrabble team member Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos. The Bengals outrebounded UNC 33-30 on the night.
The Bengals now hit the road for a pair of road games before coming home for four straight. The Bengals travel to take on the University of Montana, who won on Saturday night 73-65 over Montana State.
NOTES: Idaho State is 4-0 in conference for the first time since 1995 ... O'Brien's technical was his fifth of the season ... the Bengals, last in the league in blocks, had eight on the night, three from Nick Rhodes, three from Matt Stucki, and a pair from Austin Kilpatrick ... David Schroeder was presented with a ball to commemorate scoring his 1,000th point on Thursday night ... O'Brien announced after the game that Cory O'Brien, his son, would not play the rest of the season as he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, as due to his class status, he has not passed enough hours in his major.
