Jan. 22, 2010
Final Stats
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Pocatello, ID --- In desperate need of a win, Idaho State got a huge game from an unlikely source. Chron Tatum, a surprise starter for leading rebounder Demetrius Monroe, scored a season-high 19 points despite averaging just four coming in, including a big basket with 1:26 left and two free throws with 27.7 left, as Idaho State outlasted Eastern Washington 80-74 at Reed Gym in front of 2,278 fans.
The Bengals played in Reed Gym as Holt Arena was used all week for the University of Idaho Agricultural Show and Potato Expo, but ISU looked more than comfortable in their alternate home, shoot .436 from the field, but blistering the nets at .529 from three, going 9-of-17, including a career-best 5-of-7 night from deep by Broderick Gilchrest.
"It was a little faster paced game than we typically play, but sometimes that happens in Reed. This gym is a little more conducive to helter-skelter and fast break basketball," said head coach Joe O'Brien. "It a task to guard those three point shooters. We gave up 12 threes and I thought we guarded the three-point line pretty well. Most of those threes were guards threes and contested threes."
The game was tight throughout, with 14 lead changes and eight ties. The last tie came at 64-64 after Eastern Washington answered a Tatum dunk with a short jumper by Marc Dunn with 7:15 left, but ISU would close the game on a 16-10 run to close it out. It started when Amorrow Morgan, who scored 19 to tie Tatum for the team lead, scored on a layup after a steal. Donnie Carson added a layup at the 5:16 mark, but while those were ISU's points over a nearly four minute stretch, ISU's defense clamped down and held Eastern without a bucket until a coast-to-coast layup by Benny Valentine made it 68-66.
Carson and Jeffrey Forbes traded jumpers, and after a missed shot, Tatum was fouled on the rebound and hit two free throws to make it 72-68 with 2:14 left. After a missed three, Tatum then sank two free throws with 1:25 left to make it 74-68. Eastern made one last push, getting a free throw and a layup sandwiched around a turnover, but with 27.7 left, Tatum calmly stepped to the line and hit two more freebies to give ISU a 76-71 lead.
ISU would hit four more free throws before a meaningless three at the buzzer by Kevin Winford ended it. That three however gave Eastern Washington 12 on the game.
The pace was frenetic throughout, as ISU led 39-38 after one period, and despite the pace of play, the teams combined for just 11 turnovers in the first half, and ISU had just 11 overall. The Bengals were the aggressors, especially early, and they forced the Eagles into foul trouble, as their leading scorer in Big Sky play Glen Dean had just five points as he had three fouls in the first half. Dean did have eight assists with no turnovers, but ISU shot 31 free throws to just 10 for Eastern Washington.
For the Bengals, Tatum and Gilchrest each had 19, and Amorrow Morgan added 18. Donnie Carson also had 11 for ISU, and Rolando Little, despite playing just 11 minutes, had eight rebounds to lead the way. For Eastern Washington, Kevin Wilford led with 20 points, and Benny Valentine added 16 off the bench. Jeffrey Forbes added 14 also.
The Bengals, who were outrebounded for most of the game, grabbed 12 of the last 16 boards in the game, and outrebounded Eastern 35-31. Idaho State bounced back with a strong showing from the line, going 23-of-31, a .742 mark.
Idaho State now hosts Portland State on Saturday night at 7:05 pm in Reed Gym. Portland State missed two threes at the end of the game and lost to Weber State 86-83 on Friday night.
NOTES: Idaho State's 16 assists were one short of a season-high, as they had 17 at UMKC ... Eastern Washington shot just .400 from the free throw line (4-for-10) ... ISU missed 15 second half shots but got eight offensive rebounds, and had 12 for the game ... Demetrius Monroe, who entered the game as the league's leading rebounder, had no points and no rebounds in four minutes.
