Just hours after being named Big Sky player of the week, Charles Odum lived up to the honor with his best performance yet.
The senior guard scored a career-high 29 points as the Vikings men’s basketball team defeated Idaho State 80-69 at the Stott Center Monday night. Odum paced the Vikings offense, hitting a season-high 10-18 field goals, including three from three-point range.
With this win, the men improved their record to a dead even 9-9 overall, and 3-3 in conference play, good enough for fifth in the league. They also improved their home record to 6-1 on the year.
Things looked bleak from the get go for the home team, as the Bengals profited from spotty Viking accuracy at the net, but the Vikings closed the difference towards the end of the first half and went into the locker room tied 32-32.
The two teams were tied at 32 at the half despite the poor shooting performance from the Vikings, who shot just 36 percent from the field in the half.
“We get energy off our defense and at the beginning of the game we didn’t have any defensive intensity,” Odum said. “I think that is why we were flat both offensively and defensively.”
The Vikings lowered the first blow in the second half after Odum drilled a three. The game would change hands several times over the next 10 minutes up until the visiting Bengals held a one-point lead 49-48.
That’s when the Vikings turned it on, led by back court players Odum and Michael Harthun, who scored all six of his points during the run.
Forward Chehales Tapscott was a defensive force, finishing with six rebounds, five steals, and four blocked shots. His defensive prowess helped force 16 Idaho State turnovers.
Despite the win, coach Tyler Geving sensed that his guys knew they could have done better.
“No players are happy after the game,” Geving said. “I like that they were unhappy with their effort. We need to keep getting better.”
Kenny McGowen scored 20 points to lead Idaho State and Chase Grabau added 18 points and four assists. The Bengals dropped to 4-14 on the season.
The Vikings next game is Saturday at Eastern Washington. They return home the following week to play the Montana schools on Jan. 26 and 29 respectively.