Dec. 5, 2007
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- Boise State used an early 12-2 run to take a quick lead, and then a crushing 24-4 run midway through the first half as Boise State opened up a 20-point halftime lead on the way to a 93-61 win over Idaho State in Holt Arena, giving the Broncos two straight wins in the series.
The 93 points equaled the most scored by BSU (6-2) against the Bengals, and the 32-point margin of victory was the second largest ever in the series, which spans 103 games. BSU won 86-51 in 1998.
Things looked good for ISU early, as Matt Stucki and Amorrow Morgan gave the Bengals (2-6) a quick 4-0 lead, but Boise State answered on a Tyler Tiedeman three-pointer, and that would be a running theme. Tiedeman's 24 points tied a career-high, and his three was the first of 15 for the Broncos, who went 15-for-25 from three and set a Holt Arena record for most threes in a game. The previous opponent high was 13 by Westminster and Wyoming, and ISU's high is 14, against Sacramento State in 2001.
In the second half ISU never brought the deficit back into the teens, despite a huge effort from Matt Stucki. The reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, coming off a career-high 26 points at Idaho, scored 23 on 7-of-11 shooting. The only other Bengal in double-figures was Logan Kinghorn, who scored 12 before leaving to get stitches on his face with 7:10 to go.
However, the night belonged to Boise State. The Broncos, along with Tiedeman's 24, got 19 from Reggie Larry and 13 from Matt Nelson. BSU also dished out 24 assists for their 30 baskets, and they turned the ball over just 11 times as well.
"From a guy who has been in this profession a long time, that was embarrassing and not acceptable," said head coach Joe O'Brien. "... and honestly, it was unexpected. Yesterday we had one of our best days of practices."
O'Brien added, "This is not the same basketball team that played in Moscow Saturday night. We were blue collar but we played hard and physical, and sometimes ugly. I don't want to take anything from Boise State or Greg's team. They have four starters and they've been building towards this season. I think that the MSU lost really served them well. They came in here hungry."
The Bengals now get 10 days off for finals before they take on their two toughest tests of the season in a road trip to #8 UCLA, and then a home game with #6 Washington State.
NOTES: The loss was ISU's first non-conference home loss under Joe O'Brien ... Boise State also scored 93 points against ISU two other times: in a 93-81 Bronco win in 1976 and in a 93-75 win in 1969 ... Stucki is now leading the team with a 12.6 scoring average ... ISU is shooting just .404 from the field for the season.
