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Bengals eke out win
POCATELLO -- Down by four points with less than three minutes to go in the game, things sure looked bad for the Idaho State men's basketball team.
Junior point guard Amorrow Morgan realized that as much as anyone. So after a timeout in the closing moments of the second half, he pulled his teammates aside and told them if the Bengals wanted to win their opener against Eastern Oregon on Friday at Reed Gym they would have to do it with defense. "It's now or never," he recalled saying. "We've gotta lock down and do what we know we can do. Otherwise it's going to be a long flight to Hawaii." Well, it's still going to be a long flight to Hawaii. But the travel time for Idaho State's second game on the islands Tuesday will no doubt feel much shorter thanks to a 75-70 come-from-behind victory over the Mountaineers.
Thanks to an impressive run of defense down the stretch after Morgan's challenge, the Bengals were able to make it happen. In the final 2:28 of the game, Idaho State forced five Eastern Oregon turnovers -- including a pass straight out of bounds and a five-second violation in the final 30 seconds -- and went from four down to five up.
It was Idaho State's first opening-game victory in 10 tries. No one was more relieved about that than Morgan, who scored 12 points and hit two big free throws with 12 seconds remaining to seal the game.
"I'm just so happy to come out with a victory after playing so bad," he said. "That's one of the worst efforts we've had as a team in a long time." Some of that had to do with Eastern Oregon, the No. 6-ranked NAIA team in the country from La Grande, Ore., playing well. But most of it had to do with Idaho State misfiring on jump shots from all over the court.
Thanks to layups and put backs, the Bengals managed to hit 42.6 percent of their shots. But they made so few shots from outside five feet that the crowd sarcastically cheered when they did make them. Idaho State also left a lot lacking at the free-throw line. By game's end, it only made 15-of-25 foul shots.
"It was one of those nights where, offensively, we just couldn't shoot the ball," Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said. "We really struggled." Because of that, Idaho State players admitted they were worried about the game's outcome until the bitter end.
"We were making quite a few mistakes," junior forward Demetrius Monroe said. "For a couple minutes there, it looked like they were going to steal one from us." The Mountaineers didn't, and Monroe can thank himself in large part for that. Doing nothing flashy, he scored 14 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked three shots.
No matter what was happening on the court, he was always in the right spot at the right time. "Coach is always talking about how sneaky I am," Monroe said. "I didn't have to do much tonight. My teammates kept putting me in easy places to make things happen."
Senior center Lucas Steijn also played big inside, coming up with 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Matt Stucki scored 13 points. Neither was pleased with his individual performance, but Stucki made sure to point out how proud he was of Idaho State to come through when it mattered. Especially without him even raising his voice. Last year, when Stucki was the Bengals' only leader on the court, that never would have happened. This season, he apparently has Morgan's help. "It's good to have him as a vocal leader this year, too" Stucki said. "He's kinda gotten to us all. When he yells at us, we all pick it up and follow suit." On this night, the Bengals followed him to their first opening day victory in 11 years. Even if it only came by five points. Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
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