Jan. 3, 2009
Final Stats
Pocatello, ID --- It probably wasn't as bad as it looked, but the Idaho State guarantee game tour is over as the Bengals ended their non-conference season with an 83-57 loss at Kansas State on Saturday afternoon before 7,446 loud fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Bengals opened the game with a stop and a basket by Matt Stucki, but KSU answered with two straight three-pointers, part of a first half barrage of threes, seven in all, and the Wildcats slowly pulled away. The Bengals started out well, hitting five of their first nine shots. However, the Bengals went cold from there, hitting just two of their final 11 shots over the final 13:41 of the half. Eleven first half turnovers just killed the Bengals, leading to 16 K-State points in the first half, accounting for just about all of the 40-22 halftime lead.
From there, the Wildcats again kept pulling away, and the Bengals could never keep up. ISU finished the game with 19 turnovers, accounting for 28 points, and K-State also grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 13 second chance points. The Wildcats also hit 11 threes on 23 shots, and they were miserable from the line, going just 20-for-34.
The Bengals hit shots in the second half, hitting .478 in the second half from the field, but just .409 overall. K-State owned the glass 42-29, and there were a whopping 60 free throws in the contest all told.
The Bengals got a team-high 13 points from Matt Stucki, and Phyllip Taylor had a career-high 10 points after scoring just nine the entire season. Chron Tatum's five rebounds were ISU's top mark. For the Wildcats, Jamar Samuels had 15 off the bench to lead K-State, one of five in double-figures. Jacob Pullen had 12 points, Justin Werner and Buchi Awaji both had 11 off the bench, and Dominique had 10 points, but a more important eight steals, a new K-State record.
Now, the Bengals can officially turn their attention to conference play, where ISU is sitting at 1-0 and a half-game behind 2-0 Portland State for first place in the Big Sky. ISU travels next to Eastern Washington on Thursday night at 8:05 pm Mountain Time.
NOTES: Sherrod Baldwin recorded his first career block ... ISU was a solid 18-of-26 from the line ... Taylor entered the game 4-for-16 from the field for the year before going 4-for-7, including a three ... ISU had just seven assists on their 18 baskets.
