Postgame: Portland State 85, Idaho State 58
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To say Idaho State walked into a buzz saw is not enough.
On Saturday at Portland State, the Bengals walked into an airplane’s turbine engine, the Bengals walked into the living room five minutes after mom got a terrible report card in the mail, the Bengals walked into a no-win situation.
Two days after losing a game to Weber State in which Portland State players and coaches admitted they were far too arrogant during, there was no way the Vikings were going to let the Bengals beat them at the Stott Center.
With great focus and a great attitude, Portland State torched Idaho State 85-58. Never before have I seen such disparity between Big Sky teams. The Vikings looked untouchable, and the Bengals weren’t ready for that strong of an opponent.
As junior guard Amorrow Morgan put it: “We got the hell beat out of us.”
Yeah, the Bengals did lose pretty bad. The question now is, what are they going to do about it.
Morgan, in particular, was vocal with and critical of his teammates following the loss. He tried to go Tim Tebow on the situation and say how he and the whole team was going to work harder from here on out and make a late season run.
It would be nice if that spurt could start Thursday against Montana. The Bengals will have a chance to redeem themselves from this road sweep by taking both home games from the Montana schools and moving to 3-2 in conference play.
To do it, Idaho State will need to improve its play.
Against Portland State, the Bengals were exposed by speed and precision passing. Idaho State was no match for Portland State’s ball movement or its shooting ability.
On offense, the Bengals need to find a way to match that. They need to get Lucas Steijn and Deividas Busma more involved in games. After all, they are seven footers. They need to do a lot of things.
Again, the question is will they do it? They’ve played well enough to do it this year. They have the ability. Coach Joe O’Brien said he still sees the Bengals as a team that can win 10-12 games in conference play.
With a good enough effort the rest of the way, I could definitely see the Bengals winning nine.
But to do that, they need an instant influx of offense and an even more instant influx of confidence.
ISU SID Frank Mercogliano pointed out something brilliant to me on this road trip: Idaho State hasn’t felt good about itself after but one game.
That would be an upset win over Utah. The Bengals felt amazing after that game and parlayed it into a near-upset of Wisconsin. But otherwise, they have felt bad about themselves. Thirteen losses hurt and even most of the wins were ugly.
There isn’t been one time when Idaho State was leading by 20 points late in the game with its starters on the bench, celebrating the made baskets of Tom Taylor or some other seldom-used player.
The Bengals are always in close games, and that wears on you. Even my dad pointed this out the other day. He said, “It seems like Idaho State plays nothing but bizarre games. They never win easy.”
Portland State won easy on Saturday, and their players and fans loved it. And I mean LOVED it. They felt great. They felt like they could win the rest of their games. They could.
Idaho State hasn’t felt that way since beating Utah. The Bengals, at all costs, need to get that feeling back. They need to sweep the Montana schools, and it would help to blow one of them out.
The question is, are they good enough to do that?
Wait five days and we’ll have the answer.
Notes:
– Junior guard Kal Bay may have broken his hand. He wore a brace throughout the second half and did not play. If he, indeed, is out with a broken hand, that takes away Idaho State’s only 3-point shooter. Austin Kilpatrick finally made one against Portland State, but he hasn’t been playing well or much lately. If Bay is out, Kilpatrick needs to find his freshman touch fast. Actually, he probably needs to do that anyway.
– There was a halftime fight between Idaho State and Portland State. They were trying to walk through a narrow door at the same time and ended up in a shoving much. Joe O’Brien and Ken Bone had to break it up. I was told by an unreliable source that “one of Idaho State’s tall guards” started it by shoving Dominic Waters. But it doesn’t really matter. No one on either active roster was ejected from the game, and the incident had little outcome on the final score.
– The Stott Center is still an awful gym, but it doesn’t feel so bad when you’ve got a good crowd in there. On Saturday, the fans were confident and it was a fun atmosphere. The Vikings also got rid of the awful “kids enjoy gym” halftime show. I give my Kudos to Portland State.
Quickly:
Player of the game:
Phil Nelson. The Washington transfer bombarded Idaho State with 23 punts on dunks and 3-pointers. No wonder coaches say he’s got a shot at the NBA.
Play of the game:
Portland State opened the game on a 14-4 run. Game over.
Reason to hope:
Idaho State players seem to have hit the “enough is enough” wall. Amorrow Morgan really let his teammates have it after this loss and he more or less guaranteed me things would get better from here. It sounded a lot like Matt Stucki’s “we’re going to take the rest of the season one minute at a time” speech from last year right before the Bengals went on a nice run to end the season.
Reason to mope:
I can’t envision Idaho State beating Portland State in any kind of rematch. Not at Holt Arena or the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings simply have the Bengals’ number. They are better at every position and know how to score. Portland State could, and likely would, win the WAC.
Looking ahead:
If tonight’s game against Portland State was a “must-win,” Thursday’s game at home against Montana is a “double, secret must-win.” Beat the Grizzlies, and everything is back on track at 2-2. Lose, and the Montana State becomes a “triple, secret must-win.”
