MEN’S BASKETBALL LETS BIG LEAD SLIP AWAY, IDAHO STATE’S FOUR-POINT PLAY DELIVERS 68-67 BENGAL WIN
1/14/2012
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Idaho State used a 36-13 run over the final 10:02, including a four-point play from Kenny McGowen with eight seconds remaining as the Bengals scrapped out a 68-67 victory over Sacramento State in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game Saturday evening at the Nest.
In one of the more gut-wrenching losses in Hornet memory, Sacramento State committed 21 turnovers, including 12 miscues during the game’s final 11 minutes. Conversely, Idaho State committed just six turnovers the entire game and badly outscored the Hornets in points off turnovers by a 25-6 margin.
Idaho State began to use a pressure defense midway through the second half that the Hornets did a poor job of handling. After a layup from Konner Veteto gave Sacramento State its game-high 22-point lead at the 11:21 mark, the Hornets committed turnovers on four straight possessions giving the Bengals life and momentum. ISU took advantage, slicing the Hornets’ lead to nine points (54-45) with 6:35 to play. However, Sacramento State used an 8-3 spurt and took what looked like an insurmountable 14-point lead with 4:37 remaining.
That’s when McGowen took over, scoring 11 of Idaho State’s final 18 points. Sacramento State would score just five points during the final 4:37, which included four turnovers and the team going 3-for-6 from the free throw line during that span. A McGowen three-pointer cut the lead to seven points with 1:46 to play, followed by a Andre Hatchett free throw and layup from Chase Grabau that put ISU down, 64-60, with 59 seconds to play.
The Hornets’ Julian Demalleville then split a pair of free throws before McGowen knocked down two freebies to get the Bengals within three points with 44 seconds left. Again, the Hornets split two free throws on their next possession before Abner Moreira scored on a tip-in to get the Bengals within, 66-64 with 26 seconds remaining. Idaho State pressured hard on the inbounds, but the Hornets were able to get the ball up the floor before Heath Hoffman was fouled with 12 seconds left.
Hoffman split his free throws to give the Hornets a 67-64 lead with 12 seconds left, before the unthinkable happened. McGowen took the inbounds and went the length of the floor before pulling up at the top of the key for an off-balance three-point attempt that hit nothing but net while being fouled by the Hornets’ Kendell Groom. After a timeout, McGowen hit the free throw to give Idaho State its first lead since the 14:13 mark of the first half.
On Sacramento State’s final possession, Jackson Carbajal had his jumper blocked by Sherron Baldwin before the ball went out of bounds with 0.7 seconds left. The Hornets retained possession, but could not get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.
Sacramento State (5-11, 0-5) dropped its sixth straight game, including its last four at home. The Hornets also lost at home to Idaho State for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Bengals improved to 4-13 overall and 2-3 with the victory.
Idaho State, which shot just 26.7 percent in a first half that saw the team trailing at halftime, 35-25, finished the game shooting 35.9 percent (23-64) from the field and 78.3 percent (18-23) from the free throw line. Sacramento State shot 50.0 percent (20-40) from the field, but the Bengals attempted a robust 24 more shots from the floor because of all the Hornet turnovers. The Hornets went to the free throw line 35 times, but converted on just 24 of those attempts (.686).
The loss wasted an impressive performance from Veteto who had a career-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. The junior center also grabbed eight rebounds in a career-high 28 minutes, and the 25 points were the most by a Sacramento State player this season. John Dickson added 13 points and five rebounds, Joe Eberhard posted eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Dylan Garrity finished with nine points and a game-best nine assists.
Idaho State used just eight players in tonight’s game, and Grabau led all of them with 20 points while McGowen added 19 points and Hatchett had 10 points. Moreira tallied 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
Sacramento State returns to action next week for road games at Montana State (Jan. 19) and Montana (Jan. 21).
