I've not been putting stories on here much lately. I'm going to change that, and I'm going to start by putting up a favorite from my time in Idaho. This was on Jan. 27, 2011.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The start of Idaho State's 74-63 loss to Sacramento State wasn't pretty. The finish was even worse, and Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien wasn't around to see it.
Idaho State scored a mere two points in the first 11 minutes of the game, allowing Sacramento State to build a 15-point lead. The Bengals spent the entire game trying to recover.
In the final two minutes, Idaho State assistant coach Cory O'Brien picked up a technical foul for disputing an official's call, then Joe O'Brien picked up two more technicals and had to be escorted off the court.
The final tally for the Bengals (6-14 overall, 2-6 Big Sky) was six technical foul shots for Sacramento State's Sultan Toles-Bey, one fan ejected from the game along with O'Brien and their third consecutive loss at Hornet Gym on Thursday night.
The opening minute summed up the Bengals' night perfectly. On the Bengals' second possession of the evening, Idaho State point guard Broderick Gilchrest found himself alone under the Hornets' (5-15, 2-7) basket for an easy shot.
Gilchrest missed the shot, and center Deividas Busma missed the putback attempt. The Bengals' play fell off after that, and the Hornets took full advantage.
“We missed eight to 10 layups in the first half,” Idaho State assistant coach Tim Walsh said. “If you miss layups, it's going to be hard to score because eventually, they're going to start taking things away. Then we let it affect things on the other end and had transition guys running by us. We had our backs to the wall after that.”
While the Bengals stewed about what went wrong, Sacramento State coach Brian Katz went for a swim. He promised his players that he would jump in the pool if they earned a two-game winning streak, and delivered on his promise after his players frustrated Idaho State at every turn.
“I thought we got really good defense in the first half,” Katz said. “In the first half, we executed the scouting report almost to a T. We (allowed) no transition, contested Busma and limited shots.”
The Bengals found a way to solve the Hornets' defense in the second half and nearly got themselves back into the game because the Hornets made several mistakes. But Idaho State shot just 64 percent from the free throw line, and sealed its fate with the late explosion.
With the Bengals trailing 61-55 and 1:02 remaining, Gilchrest drove toward the basket and was brushed on a layup attempt. The officials ruled that the contact was incidental and gave the ball to the Hornets when the ball went out of bounds, which set off the Bengals' coaches.
After Cory O'Brien yelled that there was no way the call was correct, Joe O'Brien launched into a tirade. He charged center court screaming at the officials and had to be restrained as he was ejected from the contest.
The three technicals ended any chance of Idaho State completing its comeback after what Walsh said was a great second-half effort.
“After the first five or six minutes of the second half, we did a really good job,” Walsh said. “You have to give the kids credit, because they kept competing. They don't quit, and they're going to come out Saturday and give us their best effort.”
Kenny McGowen led Idaho State with 17 points, while Duro Bjegovic paced the Hornets with 18 and was one of four Sacramento State players in double figures.
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