Idaho State point guard Broderick Gilchrest has heard the talk all week about the Bengals? triple-overtime loss to Weber State. He knows exactly why fans think the Bengals gave a golden opportunity away a week ago against the Wildcats.
He?s been in the gym working on that.
?We?ve been practicing a lot on our free throws,? Gilchrest said. ?I know personally I have, and it?s just an area I?ve got to improve on. I?ve got to get my swag back on the free throw line, and we should be good.?
Gilchrest needs to have it in time for Idaho State?s home contest against Eastern Washington at 7:05 p.m. tonight in Reed Gym. With the Bengals now staring at four consecutive losses, the bleeding has to stop as soon as possible.
This week, the Bengals got bumped out of Holt Arena for an agricultural expo, but they don?t seem to mind returning to Reed, which has been a home away from home for them this year.
In fact, counting exhibition games, the Bengals are 3-0 at Reed this season, which makes it one of two buildings (UMKC?s Swinney Recreation Center being the other) in which Idaho State is undefeated this season.
?I prefer Reed Gym,? senior forward Austin Kilpatrick said. ?It?s more of a basketball atmosphere and I always shoot better here, so I?m excited. This is a small atmosphere, but it gets rowdy in here. It?s a good feeling in here. It might be small, but I still like it.?
But it?ll take more than a move to Reed Gym to knock off the Eagles, who looked like a sure bet for the Big Sky?s worst team in December but have steadily improved since.
Before the Eagles got into the meat of their Big Sky schedule, Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine was very unhappy with how poorly his team was shooting the ball and bluntly stated that the Eagles needed to make more shots to compete.
Since Earlywine made that comment, the Eagles have done that. Eastern Washington has shot 43 percent from 3-point range in Big Sky play, up from 33.6 percent for the season. Their free throw percentage and their overall shooting percentages have also improved.
?They?re a very good offensive basketball team because they have a lot of weapons,? Idaho State assistant coach Tim Walsh said. ?They?re leading the league in 3-point shooting at 43 percent. That?s shooting the basketball. They?re a good, solid basketball team because they?ve got all the parts.?
But even with those parts, the Eagles still own a 2-4 Big Sky record, largely because they?ve tended to be a first half team. In all but one of Eastern Washington?s six conference games, the Eagles were outscored in the second half. Not coincidentally, the one game where they had the better second half was a victory, a 75-73 upset at Montana State.
The Bengals could not be more different. Idaho State?s losses have come mostly because it has failed to play well in the first half and dug itself a deep hole. Against this team, that simply isn?t an option.
?It?s huge,? senior guard Amorrow Morgan said of getting off to a good start. ?They?ve had a lot of leads, and we?ve dug a lot of holes. We want to establish something at the beginning of the game and not get down.?
Morgan then issued a plea for the Bengal fans to get to the game early, although he admitted that he?d prefer that Idaho State handle business on its own. But at this point, any conference win is critical, so he?ll take a win however he can get it.
That?s especially true against this Eastern Washington team, because the Eagles figure to be one of the teams Idaho State battles for a spot in the Big Sky tournament. Walsh said the Bengals aren?t thinking about that now, but the Bengal players admitted that it makes this game critical.
?This game is very important,? Gilchrest said. ?It?s a game we need. We?re already at the bottom trying to fight to get to the middle of the pack. This is a game we need, and so does Eastern. We?ve got to win this first game to get momentum.?
He?s been in the gym working on that.
?We?ve been practicing a lot on our free throws,? Gilchrest said. ?I know personally I have, and it?s just an area I?ve got to improve on. I?ve got to get my swag back on the free throw line, and we should be good.?
Gilchrest needs to have it in time for Idaho State?s home contest against Eastern Washington at 7:05 p.m. tonight in Reed Gym. With the Bengals now staring at four consecutive losses, the bleeding has to stop as soon as possible.
This week, the Bengals got bumped out of Holt Arena for an agricultural expo, but they don?t seem to mind returning to Reed, which has been a home away from home for them this year.
In fact, counting exhibition games, the Bengals are 3-0 at Reed this season, which makes it one of two buildings (UMKC?s Swinney Recreation Center being the other) in which Idaho State is undefeated this season.
?I prefer Reed Gym,? senior forward Austin Kilpatrick said. ?It?s more of a basketball atmosphere and I always shoot better here, so I?m excited. This is a small atmosphere, but it gets rowdy in here. It?s a good feeling in here. It might be small, but I still like it.?
But it?ll take more than a move to Reed Gym to knock off the Eagles, who looked like a sure bet for the Big Sky?s worst team in December but have steadily improved since.
Before the Eagles got into the meat of their Big Sky schedule, Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine was very unhappy with how poorly his team was shooting the ball and bluntly stated that the Eagles needed to make more shots to compete.
Since Earlywine made that comment, the Eagles have done that. Eastern Washington has shot 43 percent from 3-point range in Big Sky play, up from 33.6 percent for the season. Their free throw percentage and their overall shooting percentages have also improved.
?They?re a very good offensive basketball team because they have a lot of weapons,? Idaho State assistant coach Tim Walsh said. ?They?re leading the league in 3-point shooting at 43 percent. That?s shooting the basketball. They?re a good, solid basketball team because they?ve got all the parts.?
But even with those parts, the Eagles still own a 2-4 Big Sky record, largely because they?ve tended to be a first half team. In all but one of Eastern Washington?s six conference games, the Eagles were outscored in the second half. Not coincidentally, the one game where they had the better second half was a victory, a 75-73 upset at Montana State.
The Bengals could not be more different. Idaho State?s losses have come mostly because it has failed to play well in the first half and dug itself a deep hole. Against this team, that simply isn?t an option.
?It?s huge,? senior guard Amorrow Morgan said of getting off to a good start. ?They?ve had a lot of leads, and we?ve dug a lot of holes. We want to establish something at the beginning of the game and not get down.?
Morgan then issued a plea for the Bengal fans to get to the game early, although he admitted that he?d prefer that Idaho State handle business on its own. But at this point, any conference win is critical, so he?ll take a win however he can get it.
That?s especially true against this Eastern Washington team, because the Eagles figure to be one of the teams Idaho State battles for a spot in the Big Sky tournament. Walsh said the Bengals aren?t thinking about that now, but the Bengal players admitted that it makes this game critical.
?This game is very important,? Gilchrest said. ?It?s a game we need. We?re already at the bottom trying to fight to get to the middle of the pack. This is a game we need, and so does Eastern. We?ve got to win this first game to get momentum.?
