The Idaho State men’s basketball team wrapped up its 2012-2013 campaign on March 9 with a thrilling 72-71 last-second win over Portland State. The senior night game in Holt Arena pitted the bottom two teams in the Big Sky Conference. Neither of them had a chance for the conference tournament. Regardless, the Bengals gave it their all and played as if they were aiming for the conference crown.
“Even though we did not win as much as we all hoped for, my guys played with integrity, with motivation and they never quit all season long,” said Bengals head coach Bill Evans. “They gave their best effort every night, and that says a lot about their attitude and team chemistry.”
The team finished with an overall record of 6-24 and 5-15 in Big Sky Conference play. That record was in no way reflective of the level of competiveness the team showed in every game. The Bengals had the second-best defense in the conference, allowing a little over 64 points per game. The average margin of defeat was less than seven points. Idaho State took care of the ball very well. On the year, the team committed 361 turnovers, one of the lowest totals in school history.
In conclusion of his first year at ISU, Evans accredited his team’s aggressive defense to the senior class.
“Our seniors did a great job adjusting to me and a new system,” he said of Melvin Morgan, Sherrod Baldwin, Jakub Kusmieruk, Dejan Kostur and Neveij Walters. Evans thanked this group of seniors for their dedication to the program. “They are a really great group of people. They were men that I wanted to coach.”
The team was led by the play of sophomore guard Chris Hansen. The Colorado native Hansen received honorable mention honors to the Big Sky All-Conference Team. He averaged 11.4 points a game and had a team-best 69 3-pointers in the season.
“We had a few guys that were considered for the honorable mention honor,” Evans said. “But because of our record, other coaches in the conference were reluctant to vote for them. And that’s how it should be.”
His and the team’s best performance came at home against Montana State on Feb. 14. The Bengals dominated the Bobcats 87-51 behind Hansen’s 27 points on nine 3-pointers.
The Bengals had another 20-plus point win at home against Northern Colorado on Jan. 5. In that game, Morgan had 27 points.
Looking ahead, Evans is expecting the same hard work and determination from his team. Hansen and juniors André Hatchett, Tomas Sanchez, Ayibakuro Preh, Nnamdi Ezenwa and Nick Mason have plenty of experience between them.
“I expect these guys to work hard and to improve in each of their personal deficiencies,” said Evans of their offseason training. With that, Evans listed a few areas that his team needs to improve on in order to compete for the Big Sky title in the 2013-2014 season.
“We need to increase our scoring and play faster,” he said. The Bengals were last in the conference in scoring average with 57 points a game. “To help with our offense, I want to keep our opponents on their heels. I felt that teams became too comfortable when they played us. We need to rebound better on both sides of the court. And, as a team, we need to shoot better and have better post-position scoring.”
The Bengals shot just over 40 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from the 3-point line throughout the year. Sanchez led the team in assists and steals with 112 and 46, respectively. Hatchett gathered a team-best 132 rebounds in the season.
