As a team, Idaho State has made so few 3-pointers this season that at one point coach Joe O'Brien joked: "When we talk about the 3-point line, we only talk about defending it."

But that was before the Bengals moved into Reed Gym for a late-season homestand.

In their smaller, and apparently more shooter-friendly arena, Idaho State made every other outside shot it attempted during a 74-39 destruction of Sacramento State on Thursday.

The Bengals started the game particularly hot from behind the arc, and made 5-of-7 3-pointers by halftime. By game's end, they had made 7-of-14.

Junior guard Austin Kilpatrick, who has come on late and moved into the starting lineup against the Hornets, did the most damage by draining three on his way to 11 points.

"Reed Gym is Austin's gym," senior center Lucas Steijn said. "If you come and watch us during the summer when we play pick-up games, he's lights out in here. He makes everything."

Morgan made both of his 3-point attempts, and Stucki went 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

O'Brien said his team's continued improvement on offense had more to do with the hot-shooting night than the new location.

"I think we've grown up a lot offensively in February," he said. "We're taking care of the ball consistently, we're sharing the ball really well and now we're shooting well, too."

An unexplainable loss

When Idaho State first lost to Sacramento State nearly a month ago at the Hornet's Nest, everyone on the Bengals' roster knew they let one get away.

Following a 35-point trouncing of the Hornets (2-26 overall, 1-14 Big Sky) on Thursday, they felt that way even more so.

When asked if he felt ashamed of the earlier loss, Steijn said there was no other way to feel.

"Yeah, definitely," he said. "We're one of their two wins this year. They're a young team, not a bad team. But we're much more experienced. We showed that tonight. At their place we came out slow and just weren't the team we can be. We had to make up something and show we can be the team we want to be. I think we did that today."

When asked for his thoughts on losing to Sacramento State last month, Morgan just shrugged.

"Hey, that game is in the past," he said. "We're playing better now. This was one of the biggest wins we've had since I've been here."

None in double figures

Sacramento State's leading scorer was Randy Adams. Remarkably, he scored only nine points.

Tickets on sale

Idaho State fans can begin buying tickets for the Bengals' first-round game of the Big Sky tournament on March 7 at Holt Arena starting today.

Tickets were supposed to be on sale after Thursday's game at Reed Gym, but because of an administrative miscommunication, they were not.

Season-ticket holders will have the chance to purchase their regular seats, and the general public can buy tickets as well. Tickets are $14 and $9 for adults, $6 for seniors and children and $3 for students.