Feb. 28, 2008
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State controlled the tempo all game long, and Amorrow Morgan hit a baseline layup with 31.5 seconds left to give ISU the lead for good, and Donnie Carson iced the game with two free throws with 4.4 left as the Bengals defeated a pesky Sacramento State Hornets team 52-51 in Sacramento, putting the Bengals into the Big Sky Conference tournament with one game to go.
In fact, the entire field is set based on the results from Thursday, and the top three seeds are all locked up, with Portland State hosting as the #1 seed, and Northern Arizona earning a bye as the #2 seed by virtue of their win over Weber State, and the Wildcats are the #3 seed. The only other thing known is Montana State will be on the road for the first round.
The game was tight throughout, especially in the second half where neither team ever led by more than four points. ISU led by four with 6:47 left after a Donnie Carson layup, but the Hornets got a Jason Davis basket and a three by Clark Woods to take their last lead at one with 5:36 to go. However, Demetrius Monroe and Chron Tatum hit baskets to replenish the lead. ISU was then up 48-45 when Loren Leath drilled a three with 51 seconds left to tie the game, setting up Morgan's heroics. Amorrow took a pass from Donnie Carson in the corner, , beat his man and drove to the basket down the baseline, giving ISU a 50-48 lead.
The Hornets then tried to work the clock down, but Vinnie McGee traveled with 5.1 left, giving the ball back to ISU. Donnie Carson was fouled and hit both ends of a one-and-one to make it 52-48, which turned out to be big when McGee drained a three at the buzzer to account for the final score.
Morgan's basket was the last of a game-high 14 points for him, as both teams struggled offensively. Idaho State scored just 19-of-52 shots, but they limited the Hornets to just 20-of-53 shooting, and outrebounded them 41-32. The Bengals also had to play most of the game without Lucas Steijn, who broke his nose just six minutes into the game.
Matt Stucki added 13 for ISU, and Donnie Carson chipped in 11 for the Bengals, who qualified for the conference tournament for the second straight year under second-year head coach Joe O'Brien. Idaho State will either be a four-seed or a five-seed. The Bengals play Northern Arizona at 6:35 pm on Saturday night, but the really important game is in Missoula. A Portland State win over Montana will mean the Bengals would host the #4/5 quarterfinal game on Saturday night at 7:05 pm, and they would host Montana State if they defeated Northern Colorado, or Montana if the Bobcats lose to UNC. If Montana wins, they would host the Bengals in the 4/5 game unless ISU defeats Northern Arizona and Sacramento State defeats Weber State on Monday night.
Should the Bengals end up going to Missoula for a first round game would be a cruel twist of fate, as that exact scenario happened last season, coupled with the Big Sky acknowledging an error at the end of the Idaho State-Montana game last Sunday that should have allowed for the Bengals to shoot two technical free throws with 0.2 on the clock. Montana State cannot host a first round game.
NOTES: The Bengals and Hornets combined for a whopping 44 three-point attempts ... the 52 points was the fewest scored by ISU in a win since scoring just 51 in a 51-47 win over Arkansas-Little Rock in the 2003 Iowa State Cyclone Classic ... Chron Tatum played a conference -high 20 minutes, and his six rebounds was one behind Donnie Carson for the team lead ... ISU had six blocked shots ... Matt Stucki, despite an ankle sprain, played all 40 minutes, as did Amorrow Morgan ... ISU completed their first sweep of a Big Sky team this season.
