Jan. 27, 2007
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State rallied from 18 down in the second half to take a late lead, but a foul at midcourt with 25.0 left sent Ryan Sommer to the line, and he hit both free throws, which was the difference in Portland State's 67-65 win over Idaho State on Saturday night in Holt Arena, dropping the Bengals out of first place for the first time this season as the team hits the halfway point of the season.
Idaho State had a chance to win on the final possession, as David Schroeder drove the lane but missed the shot after some contact. Matt Stucki, who gave ISU their first lead since early in the game with a bank shot with 31.7 left, got the rebound and was fouled by Scott Morrison with just 3.4 seconds left. Stucki, who was 5-for-5 from the line in the game to that point, missed both free throws, and Juma Kamara got the rebound and was fouled He then hit one free throw with 1.2 left to account for the final margin.
The Bengals created their own misery in a way, as after jumping out to a 9-4 lead after seven minutes, the Bengals allowed Portland State to go on a 15-4 run, with Paul Hafford jumping off the bench for three threes over that nearly nine minute time span.
Down at the half 27-21, ISU got a quick three from Akbar Abdul-Ahad to open the second half, but PSU scored 15 straight, getting eight of those from Dupree Lucas for a 42-24 lead. Idaho State eventually cut the lead down to five after an Austin Kilpatrick three pointer, but Hafford hit three straight threes on three straight trips to push the lead to 11 at 55-42. Amazingly, the Vikings would not hit another field goal again after the 9:19 mark, but they hit 14-of-19 free throws as the Bengals were whistled 16 times in the second half. With 8:03 left, it still was 11 before ISU's final push going on an 11-1 run, capped by a long three from David Schroeder to knot the score at 56 with 5:00 left. After trading some baskets, Hafford was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three for a 63-58 lead with 2:40 left.
Abdul-Ahad drove for a basket to cut it to 63-60, and after a free throw by Morrison, Schroeder connected on an old fashioned three-point play with 1:10 left to cut it down to 64-63. Schroeder then blocked Dupree Lucas's shot in the lane, and Stucki got open and kissed one off the glass with 31.7 left to give ISU their first lead of the second half, setting up the game's final moments.
The Bengals were led again by David Schroeder's 21 points, and Abdul-Ahad chipped in 12. Portland State's Paul Hafford had 21 of his own, and Lucas added 14. The Vikings shot .413 for the game, but that was better than ISU's .386, dropping the Bengals to 0-7 when shooting under .400, and it also marked the third straight game ISU shot below .400 from the field. Idaho State was also outrebounded 38-28.
NOTES: The Bengals dropped their second straight home game, and now have two more at home starting Thursday night against Northern Arizona ... The Bengals are now even in the loss column with Weber State, but the Wildcats are 7-3 and in first place, and Montana and ISU are tied for second at 5-3 ... Amorrow Morgan earned his first career start ... Portland State came in leading the league in blocked shots, and had six for the game ... two games separate first place and seventh place in the standings.
