Jan. 23, 2010
Final Stats
Complete Stat Packet: Idaho State 88, Portland State 80 (OT) 
Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State University got another 30-point night from the Big Sky Conference's leading scorer in Amorrow Morgan, and Idaho State shot .596 for the game as the Bengals staved off a wild rally by Portland State to hand the Vikings their seventh straight road loss, and pick up their first overtime win, 88-80 in front of 2,246 fans in Reed Gym.
Morgan's 30 points came on 11-of-16 shooting, including hitting all four of his three-point attempts. He is now hitting a league best .682 from beyond the arc in Big Sky games.
With Idaho State playing their second overtime contest in eight days, the Bengals righted their triple overtime loss to Weber State last Saturday, hitting 5-of-6 from the field in the extra session. Donnie Carson and PSU's Julius Thomas exchanged baskets to start the period, and Carson then hit a backdoor pass to Chron Tatum, giving ISU the lead they would never relinquish.
After a free throw, Austin Kilpatrick drained his third three of the game to make it 80-76, and hit added both ends of a one-and-one to make it 82-76. After a pair of meissed free throws by Julius Thomas, Amorrow Morgan sank a jumper, and then Tatum answered a PSU basket with one of his own with 58.5 left, and it was academic from there.
Overtime didn't look like a remote possibility as the Bengals, who led much of the game, had a seemlingly commanding 66-56 with 5:19 to go, and it was still 69-61 with 3:37 left after a Carson bucket, but the Vikings got a big three from Phil Nelson, who struggled all night, going just 3-for-13 and just 1-for-5 from the line. Still, a free throw, and then a three-point play with 1:22 left by Jamie Jones made it 71-70.
ISU then survived after a turnover as Jones' shot jumper rolled tantalizingly around the rim, and Kilpatrick converted a one-and-one for a three-point lead, but Nelson sent it to overtime with a three with 21.8 left. ISU's three at the buzzer was short, and the game went to the extra period.
The Bengals opened the first half with a 9-0 run, but the Vikings clawed their way back into the game, and used an 11-0 run to tie the game at 24. PSU didn't take their first until 1:21 remained, but Morgan erased it with 1.5 left on the clock to end the half and give ISU a 30-29 lead at the break.
While the rebounding battle was tied, the Vikings came away with 19 offensive boards, which led to 21 second chance points and nullified their .420 shooting percentage. Idaho State blistered the nets against, hitting.596 from the field, .611 from three (11-of-18) and .833 from the charity stripe. PSU was only 12-of-22 from the free throw line for the game.
Morgan's 30-point night was his third of the season, and he upped his scoring average to 18.8, and 22.9 in league play. Along with Morgan, Broderick Gilchrest added 18, Kilpatrick had a season-high 13, and Tatum chipped in 10. For the Vikings, Melvin Jones off the bench scored 20, Jamie Jones had 19 with 10 rebounds, and Julius Thomas and Phil Nelson each had 10. Thomas proved a deft passer, netting seven assists.
The win put ISU at 6-14 overall, but they are 3-5 in the conference, tied for sixth place with Portland State. ISU hosts Sacramento State on Saturday night at 7:05 pm in their next contest.
NOTES: Idaho State's 11 threes and 20 assists were both season highs ... Morgan and Gilchrest both played the entire game ... Gilchrest added three steals ... while their were 10 lead changes, Portland State never led by more than two.
