Idaho State 69, Montana State 64
What in the world was that? Idaho State held off Montana State in a game that featured, well, gosh, as my game story said — everything.
But in the end, ISU got what it needed, a big home win.
Check out a photo gallery from the game here.
Star of the game: Chris Hansen. Hansen scored 28 points, upping his average to 17.4 for the season, and he had the biggest shot of the night (again, the game story has more on that).
Talking about Hansen after the game, ISU head coach Bill Evans said: “I tell people all the time. ... There’s a few guys that can shoot better. But I don’t think there’s any better player that can shoot the ball like Chris Hansen in the league. I believe that.”
Star of the game No. 2: Andre Hatchett. Hatchett scored 20 points and, of course, that was crucial. But where his importance really came into play Saturday night was at the point guard position.
Just a year ago Hatchett was ISU's "four-man" because of roster constraints. Now he's a wing playing at the top of ISU's match-up zone defense, his natural position. When point guard Tomas Sanchez fouled out, Hatchett had to take on his role as Idaho State's primary ball handler — not his natural position.
But he did it well enough to help Idaho State hold on.
Non-star of the game: The referees. The three-man crewing working Idaho State and Montana State were terrible. There's just no other way to state it. They worked their way through 40 minutes where they bumbled and tripped over each other again and again. The actual calls on the floor regarding game play (as in this was a hand check, this was over the back or that was a block) were fine.
But if there was any controversy, they just fell apart. It's a hard job, so I'll stop complaining here. Just remember this: THEY CALLED A BLOCK AND A CHARGE ON THE SAME (the same!) PLAY.
Wrapping up the Big Sky
Northern Colorado 72, Sacramento State 62
The Hornets kept it close throughout, but the Bears pulled away to remain in first place of the Big Sky standings.
Weber State 68, Montana 63
Ultimately, Montana got the split on the road Montana State couldn't, so the Griz have to feel good about that. But at 3-5 Montana is all the way back in ninth place of the conference standings. Hard to believe.
Portland State 67, Southern Utah 64
PSU is quietly 3-4 in the league and in contention for the postseason.
North Dakota 84, Northern Arizona 68
For all its early-season struggles, North Dakota is 5-3 and sitting in third place after eight games. Ladies and gents, welcome to the Big Sky in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment