Idaho State comes into the Big Sky semi-finals on the heels of a two point victory over Montana. They are the real unknown of the four remaining teams. They are young, and should be in the upper-echelon of the Big Sky for the next few years.

For the Vikings, there is a different story. After a 23 point win at home against the Bengals, and a 10 point win on the road, there is little reason to doubt Portland State’s chances to advance to advance to the Big Sky Championship game. If there is one unknown, it is how the Viking players will react to the Rose Garden. The only other game there this year, the Vikings only beat Division III Lewis & Clark by 1 point. Needless to say the current Viking team has come a long way. They give up the friendly confines of the Stott Center for the added seating capacity and big game atmosphere of the Rose Garden. One would hope the great season Ken Bone’s squad has had would bring more than a thousand fans to championship games.

Match-Ups
Center
ISU: Lucas Steijn PSU: Scott Morrison
This match-up is not fair. Out of the 3 options the Bengals have here, none can guard Scott Morrison, none can rebound with Morrison and none can score against Morrison. In the first game, Morrison had a very solid all-around game while holding Steijn to just 3 points and 3 rebounds. The second match-up saw Morrison have a little less success offensively, while giving the Bengal centers 2 points and 4 rebounds. Even JR Moore had success. I don’t see much changing. As I said before their last game, ISU doesn’t really have any post presence, so PSU may be able to put a little more pressure on the wing players.
Advantage: Vikings

Forward
ISU: Logan Kinghorn PSU: Kyle Coston
Kinghorn was outplayed by his backup, Chron Tatum in the second game against the Vikings. If Kinghorn starts slowly this time, look for the Bengals to go to Tatum early. They can’t hold anything back, as this is likely the last game of their season. Kyle Coston had a so-so game the last time he played against the Bengals, with 8 points and 2 rebounds. Considering how ineffective the other options for the Vikings were at the 4, he had a solid game. PSU doesn’t necessarily need a great effort from this position to win the game, but a little extra cushion couldn’t hurt.
Advantage: Push

Guard/Forward
ISU: Amorrow Morgan PSU: Deonte Huff
Morgan has had decent success against Huff, going for 11 points in both contests. However, he hasn’t been able to equal Huff’s success (20 points and 6 rebounds the last game between the two.) As I pointed out the last game between the two, Morgan is only a sophomore, so he could one day become the player Huff is. However, he is not ready to beat out the Big Sky first-teamer at this point in his career.
Advantage: Vikings

Off Guard
ISU: Donnie Carson/Austin Kilpatrick PSU: Andre Murray
Kilpatrick won the last battle between the two with 14 points to Murray’s 6. However, Murray went only 2-10 from the field. Assuming he can hit an average percentage of his shots, Andre should be able to keep pace. He outrebounded Kilpatrick 5-1 in the first match-up, something he probably won’t have to do in this match-up for the Vikings to have success. Can Kilpatrick seize the initiative and provide the much-needeed scoring punch aside Stucki and Morgan? If not, this game won’t be close. Recently, Carson has been receiving a lot of playing time. Against Montana he turned that into 10 points and 5 rebounds. If he can pitch in and contribute the same amount tonight, that will help keep the game close, and perhaps Stucki can pull something out of the bag late, who knows?
Advantage: Push

Point
ISU: Matt Stucki PSU: Jeremiah Dominguez
Stucki may be the one player who gives Dominguez serious problems defensively. Dominguez has been great all year, but the 6’6” Stucki is a full foot taller than Dominguez. Here, I gave the advantage to Stucki in the Stott Center game based on their outputs in the first game. Dominguez was able to hit right on his averages, but Stucki was great, going for 26 points. However, Dominguez had a very solid all-around game in the second match-up that superceded Stucki. As this season progressed, one could tell Jeremiah went out every night to send a message. He was rewarded for his outstanding play with the Big Sky Player of the Year award. He is clearly the factor that made last year’s mediocre squad into this year’s Big Sky champions.
Advantage: Vikings

Bench
The Vikings have the advantage here. The Bengals have three bench players who average 5 or more points per game, but none who is a real threat to go for a bunch of points. At home, the Viking bench players just tend to do better. Alex Tiefenthaler had 16 points the first time around against ISU, but failed to score a single point in the second contest. JR Moore stepped up with 6 points and 9 big rebounds in the second contest. With Julius Thomas healthy, Moore may not even see time. Hard to believe that even JR was dominant in the post against the Bengals.
Advantage: Vikings

Well… now comes the time for a prediction. The Bengals won only two conference games away from home: Northern Colorado and Montana. I predicted 76-60 at the Stott Center, and the game came out 81-58. This time, I’m expecting the Vikings to score a few less points in the unfamiliar atmosphere at the Rose Garden. However, I think they should still have plenty to get by the Bengals for a championship match-up with Northern Arizona or Weber State.
Prediction: PSU 73-60

It would surprise most people around the league if this game was really close, even though the Bengals are 6-4 in conference. PSU beat them by 10 in Pocatello, and Matt Stucki went for 26 in that game. It is possible he can equal that effort, but in all likelihood that won’t be enough to pull off what would be a major upset. The only way the Bengals can win this one is if the Vikings beat themselves. We have seen it happen this year, but not recently. Games that come to mind are the awful home meltdown against San Jose State, and the road loss to Eastern Washington. The current rotation for the Viks is a very confident one, and for good reason.

Match-Ups
Center
ISU: Lucas Steijn PSU: Scott Morrison
This match-up was ugly the last time around. Morrison had a very solid all-around game while holding Steijn to just 3 points and 3 rebounds. I don’t see much changing. Steijn has only averaged 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds all season. The other option for the Bengals, Demetrius Monroe, has rebounded a bit better, but is no more of an offensive threat. In fact, ISU doesn’t really have any post presence, so PSU may be able to put a little more pressure on the wing players.
Advantage: Vikings

Forward
ISU: Logan Kinghorn PSU: Kyle Coston
ISU tends to go with a 4 guard lineup, one of which being Kinghorn. However, he is the best rebounder, so he will likely match-up on whoever the Vikings have inside other than Morrison. He only managed one rebound in their first game, but he only played for 17 minutes. He has outplayed Coston in every offensive category so far this year, but in their head to head match-up he had no points and just one rebound. Factor in Alex Tiefenthaler’s 16 points in the first game, and PSU dominated at this position. You have to figure that Kinghorn will be able to fare a little better in the second game.
Advantage: Push

Guard/Forward
ISU: Amorrow Morgan PSU: Deonte Huff
Morgan had a very solid second half the first game. He had a tough time in the first half, but was able to salvage 11 points. The sophomore may become one of the better players in the conference in years to come. Like Huff, he has the ability to score in many ways. All that said, I have to again give the advantage to the consistent senior. He has been solid for the Vikings all year, and there has been no indication that he will do anything less in the future. At home, he has been even better, averaging 15 points per game. I’ll take 15 against 10 any day.
Advantage: Vikings

Off Guard
ISU: Austin Kilpatrick PSU: Andre Murray
If Kilpatrick is going to beat Murray, it will be with his size. At 6’6” he may be the tallest player Murray has to match up against. If Murray is going to win, he’ll have to beat Kilpatrick with his quickness and athleticism. As PSU should have the inside advantage in this game, Murray will be allowed to stick to the role of shooter, unless the game gets close. He has shot the ball well at home, and has adapated well to a starting role. With no clear advantage in this one, we’ll have to see what wins out.
Advantage: Push

Point
ISU: Matt Stucki PSU: Jeremiah Dominguez
Stucki may be the one player who gives Dominguez serious problems defensively. Dominguez has been great all year, but the 6’6” Stucki is a full foot taller than Dominguez. This match-up is an accented version of the one at shooting guard. Height and power versus speed and quickness. Here, I give the advantage to Stucki based on their outputs in the first game. Dominguez was able to hit right on his averages, but Stucki was great, going for 26 points.
Advantage: Bengals

Bench
The Vikings have the advantage here. The Bengals have three bench players who average 5 or more points per game, but none who is a real threat to go for a bunch of points. At home, the Viking bench players just tend to do better. Alex Tiefenthaler had 16 points the first time around against ISU, and will try to duplicate that on Thursday. Other players may see extended time, as they did against Sac State, if this game has the kind of spread one would expect.
Advantage: Vikings

I am hard pressed to predict the score in this one. The teams hit right on their season averages in the first match-up. On Thursday, the question is whether the Vikings are looking past ISU to their weekend match-up with Weber State. If so, this could be a close game. Both Amorrow Morgan and Matt Stucki are very solid players. I don’t think the Vikings will have trouble here. The upperclassmen have pulled the team out of their tailspin, and really righted the ship. The role players should get their minutes, and save a major injury, the Viks should roll at home.
Prediction: PSU 76-60

Don Bailey, former offensive coordinator for Montana State, is reported to be heading to Weber State to coach WRs.  Bailey was scrutinized in his time in Bozeman, for a vanilla playback and predictable calls.  But then again, that just described every fanbase’s opinion of their OC.  Bailey was highly thought of in regards to recruiting, however.

ISU has announced they have hired former linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Rob Christoff.  Christoff will coach linebackers for the Bengals.  He was promoted to DC last year when former DC Pete Kwiatkowsk left the team to accept a position at Boise State.  Many Cat fans were hoping Christoff would be retained, but that was not the case.

Natalie Doma Leads Team Canada

Women’s Basketball

Doma Leads Team Canada to Three Wins at U21 FIBA World Championships

2007 All-American fronts canada in both scoring and rebounding

Natalie Doma scores against host Russia at the 2007 FIBA U21 Women’s Basketball World Championship.

July 6, 2007

Moscow, Russia–Idaho State’s Natalie Doma has helped the 2007 Canada U21 national team to a 3-2 record at the FIBA Women’s U21 World Championship at the SK Vidnoje Basketball Hall in Moscow, Russia. Doma will continue play in the semi-final round on July 7 against Brazil.

Looking forward to her senior season at Idaho State, Doma leads team Canada in both scoring (10.8 ppg.) and rebounding (8.5 rpg.) through six games at the world championship.

The all-time ISU point scorer ranks fourth in rebounding at the championship, just ahead of team USA and Oklahoma standout Courtney Paris. Doma, a 2007 All-American, has led team Canada to wins over China, Mali, and Belgium.

Doma recorded an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double effort in a 78-54 route of China. She also scored double digits with 13 points in a win over Belgium and 10 points in a loss to France.

Team Canada currently sits in third place behind France and Russia in Group A. Canada dropped a 98-57 decision to Australia in the quarter finals, a team that lost only one game in the preliminary round, to top-ranked USA by two points.

Canada now moves on to play in the semi-final round on July 7 against Brazil. The team will then move on to play in the final round on July 8.

Team Canada’s U21 roster consists of current Canadian born NCAA Division I basketball players around the nation, including Alisha Tatham (UMass), Tata Watts (Rice), Kadie Riverin (Rice), Kendel Ross (Dayton), Courtnay Pilypaitis (Vermont), and Miranda Ayim (Pepperdine).

For more information on the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championships, including live stats for games, visit http://www.russia2007.fiba.com. For more information on Canada Basketball, visit www.basketball.ca.

Former Idaho State Basketball Coach Jim Killingsworth Passes Away at Age 83

Killer led ISU to upset of UCLA in 1977 and a win from the Final Four

Jim Killingsworth

June 11, 2007

Owasso, OK — Jim Killingsworth, the basketball coach who took Idaho State to heights never before reached in 1977 when he led ISU to perhaps the greatest pure upset in the history of the NCAA Tournament, ending UCLA’s epic run of 11-straight Final Fours, died on Sunday in Owasso, Oklahoma from complications of a stroke.

Killingsworth, who would have turned 84 on June 19, coached Idaho State from 1971-77, and ranks tied for second on the all-time wins list at Idaho State with a record of 109-54. In his six seasons, he led the Bengals to three regular season titles, and two NCAA Tournament trips, in 1974 and 1977. The Bengals never finished lower than second place in any of Killer’s six seasons.

The 1974 team lost to New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it was the 1977 team that brought fame and notoriety to Killingsworth and the Bengals. After winning the league title and dispatching of Long Beach State 83-72 in the first game of the tournament in Pocatello, the Bengals traveled to Provo, Utah to take on the #2 UCLA Bruins. All UCLA had done was make 11 consecutive Final Fours, but a 12th appearance was denied as the Bengals took down the mighty Bruins 76-75.

Had the game happened perhaps 10 years later, when March Madness first started to really creep into the American lexicon, the Bengals and Killingsworth would have been famous. As it was, the Bengals lost in their shot at the Final Four, losing to UNLV 107-90. That would be Jim’s final game with the Bengals, as he became the head coach at Texas Christian, eventually leading their stagnant basketball program to the NCAA Tournament as well.

Killingworth, who suffered a stroke nearly a month ago while at home, died at St. John’s Hospital. A service will be held at 10:30 am on Friday morning at First United Methodist Church in Glen Rose, Texas.