Feb. 22, 2007
Final Stats
Cheney, WA Marcus Hinton, who had just seven three-pointers the entire season, went an amazing 6-for-6 from beyond the arc, including the winning shot with 2.6 seconds left to give Eastern Washington an 82-79 win over Idaho State, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive and shuttling the Bengals all the way down to sixth place.
Idaho State will qualify for the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the first time since 1994 with a win against Portland State, or wins in their final two home games against Montana and Montana State, or with one win and an Eastern loss, or with a win over Montana State, an Eastern win over Sacramento State, and a Northern Arizona win over Montana State.
Due to the jumble of teams, it's possible for Eastern Washington to lose to Sacramento State and get in depending on who finishes second and third, or for them to win and not get in if they end up tied at 8-8 with Montana State. All that is known is that Weber State will host the semifinals and finals, and Northern Arizona and Montana State have punched their tickets.
The game was a see-saw affair for the entire game, featuring 16 lead changes and 13 ties. The final tie was forged when, after Matt Penencello missed the front end of a one-and-one with 27.3 left. Akbar Abdul-Ahad drove down, and found Matt Stucki, who hit a 12-footer in the lane with 12.5 left to tie it at 79.
After a timeout, Rodney Stuckey came down and was hounded, but found Hinton in the corner, who hit nothing but net from three for an 82-79 lead with 2.6 left. ISU's desperation pass was knocked away to end the game.
The last-second three by Eastern probably isn't any sort of surprise for fans of this series, as Eastern Washington in the last eight years has won several games with threes late, including a 55-foot hook at the buzzer in 2000 by Ryan Hanson that eventually won the game 71-70 and was the National Play of the Year.
Hinton's big night was a shocker to everyone, as he had just four threes in Big Sky play, and his 24 points easily bested his career-high of 15 set earlier in the year against little-known Evergreen State.
The Bengals lost despite shooting .500 from the field, and .524 from the three-point line. Eastern however shot .549 from the field and .500 from three in a hot shooting night all the way around. Eastern outrebounded ISU 31-24.
Abdul-Ahad had 22 points to lead ISU, and Logan Kinghorn and Austin Kilpatrick each had 14. David Schroeder added 12. Along with Hinton's 24, Rodney Stuckey had 23 and 10 assists, and Paul Butorac had 15.
NOTES: The game marked the first time all season that the Bengals lost when shooting .500 or better, and it was the second time this year they lost when leading entering the final minute ... Saturday's game at Portland State is a 2:05 pm Mountain Time start.
