Anaheim 94, Idaho 91
BOISE, Idaho (March 16, 2007) -- The Idaho Stampede had a sweet first half turn sour in the second, as the Anaheim Arsenal handed Idaho their second straight loss 94-91 at Qwest Arena in Boise.
Idaho was ahead by as much as 22 points, 15 seconds into the third quarter on a Ricky Sanchez three-pointer, but was outscored 60-38 in the second half.
With a five-point lead going into the second quarter, Idaho looked to take control of the game. Idaho outscored Anaheim in the second 28-14, while shooting 11-for-15, including 3-for-5 from three-point range.
Idaho went into halftime with a 19-point lead, shooting 62% for the half, while the Arsenal shot just 36%. Anaheim came out firing, shooting 59% in the second half, including a 10-0 run at the end of the third quarter to cut the Stampede lead to 66-61 with 30 seconds remaining. Idaho shot just 14-for-36 in the second half.
Idaho’s Sanchez scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the second quarter, also tying his season-high to go along with his 10 rebounds. Ronell Taylor was the only other Stampede player scoring in double figures with 13 points, while Randy Livingston dished out 15 assists, and Badou Gaye had a game high 12 rebounds.
Anaheim had five players score in double-figures, led by Steven Smith’s 27 points. Davin White scored 21 and dished out six assists off the bench, as he replaced Majik Dorsey, who received his second technical foul and was ejected from the game with 4:55 left in the first quarter. Andre Owens added 17 points, while Jawad Williams contributed 15 points in the win.
Idaho finished the game shooting nearly 51% from the field, while the Arsenal heated up in the second half to finish the game shooting 46.5%. Idaho outrebounded Anaheim 43-28 for the contest.
Anaheim picked up their first win in the season series, after the Stampede had won the previous four.
With the loss, Idaho drops to 27-13 but continues to hold the best record in the league and a 1.5 game lead over Colorado for the top spot in the Western Division. The Arsenal goes to 19-23 on the season and is only one game back of Albuquerque and Los Angeles for the final playoff spot in the West. The Stampede and Arsenal face each other again tomorrow night at Qwest Arena.
