1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team

1976–77
ISU Minidome
1976–77 ISU Minidome
	Seasons ← 1975–76 1977–78 →

1976–77 Big Sky men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Idaho State †	13	–	1	.929	25	–	5	.833
Weber State	11	–	3	.786	20	–	8	.714
Gonzaga	7	–	7	.500	11	–	16	.407
Montana State	6	–	8	.429	12	–	14	.462
Northern Arizona	5	–	9	.357	12	–	15	.444
Boise State	5	–	9	.357	10	–	16	.385
Montana	5	–	9	.357	7	–	19	.269
Idaho	3	–	11	.214	5	–	21	.192

† Conference tournament winner

The 1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represented

ISU Minidome in Pocatello. Led by seven-foot (2.13 m) senior center Steve Hayes, they finished the regular season at 21–4 overall, with a 13–1 record in the Big Sky Conference.^[2]

As regular season champions, Idaho State hosted and won the second edition of the four-team

Long Beach State.^[3] At Provo, Utah, the Bengals drew national attention with their one-point upset of longtime power UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.^[4]^[5]^[6] After UCLA scored to draw within one, freshman reserve guard Ernie Wheeler was quickly fouled in the backcourt with eight seconds remaining; he made both to go up by three. UCLA scored again with a second left, but time ran out after ISU successfully got the ball inbounds. Wheeler had earlier hit both free throws with 37 seconds remaining; the Bengals made nine of ten free throws in the final two minutes.^[4]^[5]^[6] This was the first time since 1963

that UCLA made the tournament but failed to get to the Final Four, which included the previous ten.

In the

UNLV,^[7]^[8] ISU led by a point at halftime, but lost by seventeen and ended the season at 25–5.^[9]

For the third consecutive year, Hayes was named to the all-conference team, joined by senior guard Ed Thompson; junior forward Jeff Cook and senior forward Greg Griffin were on the second team.^[10]^[11]

The Bengals were the fourth (of five) Big Sky teams to advance to the Sweet Sixteen; they remain the only Elite Eight team in conference history, and the only one to post consecutive wins in a given NCAA tournament.

After the season in late March, Killingsworth departed for Oklahoma State University of the Big Eight Conference.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Roster

1976–77 Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	21	Scott Goold	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Highland HS	Pocatello, ID
G	14	Ed Thompson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Santa Barbara CC	Santa Barbara, CA
F	30	Greg Griffin	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Pasadena CC	Cleveland, OH
F	32	Jeff Cook	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Edgewood HS	West Covina, CA
C	33	Steve Hayes	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Aberdeen HS	Aberdeen, ID
F	22	Brand Robinson	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Manhattan HS	Manhattan, MT
G	12	Ernie Wheeler	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	San Luis Obispo HS	San Luis Obispo, CA
F	15	Brian Bemis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Coeur d'Alene HS	Coeur d'Alene, ID
F	20	Paul Wilson	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Fontana HS	Fontana, CA
C	35	Stan Klos	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	St. Peters (NJ)	Old Bridge, NJ
F	31	Gene Bowen	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Southern Idaho	Lafayette, IN
G	10	Kelly Gardner	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Provo HS	Provo, UT
F	34	Mark McQuaid	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Chaffey HS	Ontario, CA

Head coach

Jim Killingsworth
(Northeastern St. (OK))

Assistant coach(es)

Charlie Fenske
(Wisconsin-Stout)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Postseason results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Big Sky tournament
Fri, March 4 9:00 pm	(1)	(4) Montana State Semifinal	W 93–77	22–4	ISU Minidome (4,427) Pocatello, Idaho
Sat, March 5 8:00 pm	(1)	(2) Weber State Final	W 61–55	23–4	ISU Minidome (9,300) Pocatello, Idaho
NCAA tournament
Sat, March 12* 4:37 pm		vs. Long Beach State First round	W 83–72	24–4	ISU Minidome (10,897) Pocatello, Idaho
Thu, March 17* 9:15 pm, NBC		vs. No. 2 UCLA Sweet Sixteen	W 76–75	25–4	Marriott Center (21,639) Provo, Utah
Sat, March 19* 2:15 pm, NBC		vs. No. 4 UNLV Elite Eight	L 90–107	25–5	Marriott Center (19,298) Provo, Utah
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain time.

References

^ Rushdi, Farid (April 7, 2013). "Sweet 16 ISU's lucky number for '77 season: Beating UCLA turned Bengals into Cinderella". Idaho State Journal. (Pocatello). Retrieved March 8, 2018.
^ "Zags draw Weber State". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 28, 1977. p. 17.
^ "Bruins rip, Rebs soar". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 13, 1977. p. D1.
^ ^a ^b Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977). "Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.
^ ^a ^b "ISU has greatest win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 21.
^ ^a ^b "UCLA becomes the obscure one". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1977. p. 1B.
^ Benson, Lee (March 19, 1977). "Vegas-ISU victor to join NCAA Final 4". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.
^ "Vegas-Idaho State: 'My turn,' says Tark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 19, 1977. p. 2B.
^ "Tark's ploy sends Rebels past Bengals". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 20, 1977. p. 1B.
^ "Grady wins All-Big Sky cage honors". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. 22.
^ "Mayhew, Hayes head all-Big Sky cage team". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. B6.
^ "Cowboys hire Jim Killingsworth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 41.
^ "ISU loses Killingsworth to OSU". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. March 31, 1977. p. F6.
^ "OSU names Killingsworth". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 21.

External links

Sports Reference – Idaho State Bengals – 1976–77 basketball season
Idaho State University Athletics – 40th anniversary of 1977 Elite Eight team
Idaho State Journal – Yesteryear – Cinderella story: When ISU basketball beat UCLA
YouTube – Idaho State upsets UCLA, from Big Sky 50 Greatest Moments

[isj13-1] Rushdi, Farid (April 7, 2013). "Sweet 16 ISU's lucky number for '77 season: Beating UCLA turned Bengals into Cinderella". Idaho State Journal. (Pocatello). Retrieved March 8, 2018.

[zgdraw-2] "Zags draw Weber State". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 28, 1977. p. 17.

[briprdso-3] "Bruins rip, Rebs soar". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 13, 1977. p. D1.

[dnllbn-4] Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977). "Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.

[isugrtwn-5] "ISU has greatest win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 21.

[ergobscu-6] "UCLA becomes the obscure one". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1977. p. 1B.

[vicfin4-7] Benson, Lee (March 19, 1977). "Vegas-ISU victor to join NCAA Final 4". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6A.

[myttrk-8] "Vegas-Idaho State: 'My turn,' says Tark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 19, 1977. p. 2B.

[tarkpl-9] "Tark's ploy sends Rebels past Bengals". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 20, 1977. p. 1B.

[gwabs-10] "Grady wins All-Big Sky cage honors". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. 22.

[mhdhts-11] "Mayhew, Hayes head all-Big Sky cage team". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. March 15, 1977. p. B6.

[cbhjkap-12] "Cowboys hire Jim Killingsworth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 41.

[lososu-13] "ISU loses Killingsworth to OSU". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. March 31, 1977. p. F6.

[osunkwo-14] "OSU names Killingsworth". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 31, 1977. p. 21.

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v t e Idaho State Bengals men's basketball
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