Nov. 3, 2008
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- Amorrow Morgan picked up right where he left off with a 20-point night and added six assists, and Idaho State outrebounded Montana Tech 43-25 as Idaho State fought off a second half charge from the Orediggers to take a 73-55 victory in their exhibition opener.
The Bengals found a game opponent in Montana Tech, who entered the game having played two regular season games averaging 103.5 points per game, but the Bengals nearly held them to half that total, and it was only a monster second half effort that got Tech to their 55 points, hitting 5-of-7 in the second half.
Idaho State found themselves in a battle at 18-13 with 7:41 left in the first half, but an 8-0 run, spurred on by a pair of Donnie Carson baskets, gave ISU a 26-13 lead, and the Bengals eventually pushed that to 35-21 at the half.
Montana Tech blitzed ISU early in the second half, and they opened the half on an 18-6 run, capping that off with back-to-back threes to shrink the Bengal lead to just 41-39 at the 13:13 mark. Morgan, however, took over at that point. First he dished to Matt Stucki for a long two, then he set up Demetrius Monroe, who got fouled and hit a pair of free throws. Morgan then hit back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 10, and Donnie Carson's monster breakaway dunk pushed it to 14.
Montana Tech's final two threes brought the lead under double-digits with 7:27 to go at 53-45, but ISU answered with a Stucki basket, and the lead never got below 10 again.
Head coach Joe O'Brien's defense ultimately led the way, with the Bengals outrebounding the Orediggers 43-25, and holding them to just .357 shooting and 55 points.
"I thought our defense did a pretty good job, because that's a team that has some experience and is pretty good. Those kids from Montana Tech played really hard, and I was really impressed with how Nate's kids competed," said O'Brien.
He added, "Defensively we should be ahead of where we are offensively, and we are still trying to figure out our rotation. We were missing three pretty important pieces, and guys like Kal and Austin that can jump and and shoot it could have really helped us against that zone."
Bay missed the game with a minor injury, and Kilpatrick is out for the week serving a suspension for a violation of team rules, although O'Brien joked at his weekly press conference that he suspended Austin because he was "mad at him this week."
The Bengals along with the 20-point night from Morgan, got an additional 10 points from Lucas Steijn, who had a double-double with 10 rebounds as well. "I'm really pleased with where Lucas is at," said O'Brien. "He's sort of the traditional JC transfer in he needed a year to figure things out. This year he's playing like it's his senior year."
Steijn wasn't the leading rebounder, as that role went to 7-footer Deividas Busma, who grabbed 12 and had five of ISU's 10 blocks. For Montana Tech, Dirk Anderson was the only player in double-figures with 10 points, and Ivan Sljivar had a team-high six rebounds.
Idaho State finishes off the exhibition season on Friday at 7:45 pm at Reed Gym when they face the Battlin' Bears of Rocky Mountain.
NOTES: ISU shot .652 in the second half ... ISU committed 21 turnovers, but eight came on offensive fouls ... ISU hit just two three-pointers, both by Sherrod Baldwin, who started the game as a true freshman ... ISU outscored Montana Tech in the paint 40-14.
