Guard can't do it alone

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krobinett@journalnet.com

BOISE -- Amorrow Morgan can't do it all by himself.

That's what the Idaho State men's basketball team learned Saturday at Taco Bell Arena in a 92-84 double overtime loss to Boise State.

Despite a career-high 31 points and an overall marvelous game from their star junior guard, the Bengals couldn't overtake their cross-state rivals.

Oh, they came close, what with Morgan carrying them to overtime on a driving layup, then taking them to double overtime with a perfectly placed pass, but at some point, someone other than Morgan has to produce offensively for the Bengals to win.

That never happened against the Broncos.

Subsequently, Idaho State dropped to 1-2 and Boise State improved to 2-1.

"He's willing to put the team on his back," Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said. "But the other guys aren't doing what they need to do."

Following Morgan in the scoring column were junior forward Demetrius Monroe, who recorded his third straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, junior guard Kal Bay with 10 and junior center Deividas Busma with 10.

But those stats were inflated. Without multiple overtimes, Morgan would have been Idaho State's only offensive presence.

Aside from Monroe, O'Brien had nothing but criticism for Morgan's teammates.

When Long Beach State comes to Holt Arena for a 7:05 p.m. game Tuesday, he said to expect major changes in the starting lineup.

"I'm stirring the pot," O'Brien said. "I'm putting some guys on the court Tuesday who deserve the chance to start a basketball game."

He said Busma was a lock to start over senior center Lucas Steijn next time out, but O'Brien was vague on everyone else. Following this game, though, seemingly anyone could start.

That's because Idaho State shot so poorly in the first half -- 29 percent -- against Boise State that the Bengals weren't able to take ownership of the game when they had the chance.

Thanks to 11 first-half turnovers and all kinds of boneheaded mistakes from Boise State in the first 20 minutes of action, Idaho State only took a 28-22 into halftime because it continually missed point-blank shots after getting the ball inside.

"That game was lost for us in the first half," O'Brien said. "We go into the locker room and we're 7-of-21 on basically layups. We had a lot of missed of easy shots. You can't shoot 29 percent in the first half, on the road and expect to win a basketball game."

Not when Boise State started the second half with a 12-1 run, anyway. That put the Bengals down 39-34, and it took everything they had to get back in the game.

Idaho State eventually fell behind 50-40 with only about 5 minutes remaining in the game, but Morgan fought back. Taking the game over all by himself, he went the length of the court with just seconds remaining and hit a layup to make the score 60-60 and force overtime.

But in overtime, Idaho State once again fell behind. Trailing 73-68, Morgan once again had to bring Idaho State back. This time, on the Bengals' final possession of the five-minute period, he drove to the basket and passed to a wide-open Monroe who made a layup to force another overtime.

Boise State coach Greg Graham took notice of Morgan's play.

"He had a phenomenal game," he said. "He's a great player."

But by the second overtime, Morgan looked drained. He could no longer do it all by himself.

And in the second overtime, Boise State simply pulled away with its inside game. BSU big men Mark Sanchez and Kurt Cunningham ended up scoring 25 and 20 points, respectively.

"We were trying to fight from behind way too much," Morgan said. "We never took control of the game . We had a lead in the first half, but they took it away from us. We've got to get tougher. A lot tougher."

That journey starts with finding someone else who can score.

Senior guard Matt Stucki, who led the Bengals in scoring a year ago, said he would be first in line.

"Some of us need to step up and help him," Stucki said. "I put a lot of that on myself. I have to contribute more. We all do."

By Kellis Robinett

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