Nov. 14, 2008
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- Someone needs to remind head coach Joe O'Brien that when you schedule an NAIA team, you probably don't need the #6 team coming in for the season opener. Eastern Oregon was hung with ISU all the way, and the Bengals needed a late 13-4 run over the final three minutes to escape with a hard-fought 75-70 win, giving the Bengals a win in their season opener for the first time since 1998.
Idaho State had a devil of a time with the Mountaineers the whole way, although Eastern Oregon never led by more than five, and ISU never led by more than seven. The Mountaineers, who were 4-0 coming in, took a four-point lead with 4:05 left on a pair of Neil Fryer free throws, but the Bengals responded in the nick of time. First, Donnie Carson hit an alley-oop layup, and then dove on a loose ball and called timeout to give ISU possession again. Amorrow Morgan then tied it up with an acrobatic baseline drive before another Fryer turnover gave the Bengals the ball again.
Lucas Steijn then hit two free throws with 1:39 left to give ISU a lead before Kris Groce, a former Sacramento State Hornet, hit two free throws, part of a perfect 10-for-10 night for him, to tie it again with 1:22 left. Matt Stucki, one of two seniors, then hit a dagger at the top of the key for a two-point 70-68 lead.
ISU then wratched up the defense, and forced three turnovers by Jerry Templeton in the final 35 seconds after committing one up to that point. ISU's free throw shooting let them down in the end as the Bengals missed three free throws in the final minute that could have iced the game. However, Stucki hit Morgan on a homerun pass for a wide open layup with 0.6 seconds left to finish off the game.
The unsung hero of the game might well have been Phyllip Taylor, who drew two charges on back-to-back second half possessions when Eastern Oregon was in danger of pushing their lead past five, and he also added five points, all in the second half.
The Bengals got solid performances from their returners, as Monroe picked up his second career double-double, hitting for 14 points and 12 rebounds, along with three blocks. Lucas Steijn was the high scorer with 16 points, and he and Monroe combined to go 12-for-16 from the field. Stucki added 13 points, and Morgan had 12.
Kris Groce led all scorers with 20 points, and Neil Fryer had 16, and Templeton adding 10. The Bengals outrebounded Eastern Oregon, who matched up with ISU pretty well size-wise 39-32, and Eastern stayed in the game at the line, hitting 29-of-35 free throws, an .829 clip. ISU was just 15-for-25, 60.0% for the game.
The Bengals, who had lost 10 straight season openers, are now 1-0 for the first time since 1997, and now ISU will try to go for their first 2-0 start since the team did so in 1995, and ISU travels to Hawai'i to go and try to end an 18-year streak of losses in their road openers.
NOTES: Idaho State used all 13 eligible players in the game, with only Tom Taylor not hitting the floor. Taylor is serving a two-game NCAA suspension for his participation in a summer league without the proper NCAA forms ... Matt Stucki hit ISU's only two threes, and the Bengals were just 2-for-11 ... ISU blocked six shots, but 7-footer Devidias Busma didn't record one after getting 11 in two exhibitions ... ISU outscored Eastern 40-24 in the point, and 18-9 on second chance points.
