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Sunday, December 19, 1999

Pate time for Islanders
Diene's debut the difference in 83-71 win
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

A&M-CC guard Toby Thompson (left) drives to the basket Saturday night during the Isles' victory over Montana State.

It is rare that a basketball player scores only one point and yet has a significant impact on his team's performance.
   Then again, Pate Diene is as rare as they come on the basketball court.
   A sophomore from Senegal, Diene had never played in an organized game of basketball in his life prior to Saturday night.
   Inserted with 3:48 to go in the first half, though, Diene never returned to the bench. Clogging up the middle of the lane with his lanky frame, the 6-foot-11 center blocked five shots and pulled down 11 rebounds, helping lead the Islanders to an 82-71 win over Montana State in front of 1,884 fans at Memorial Coliseum.
   "Pate made a big difference," said forward Aaron Eneas, who notched his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. "He came in the game, grabbed a lot of boards and blocked some shots. And that kept them from just penetrating and getting layups."
   A former walk-on at UTEP who never actually saw any game action, Diene played soccer growing up in Senegal and was a standout goalkeeper.
   Suffering from stress fractures in both legs for the last two months, though, Diene rarely practiced with A&M-Corpus Christi, instead watching his teammates work out while riding a stationary bicycle for hours at a time.
   "I expected Pate to be able to block shots," said Islanders head coach Ronnie Arrow. "But I didn't know about his endurance. That bike must have worked. I don't think he got tired at all."
   With his imposing presence occupying the low post in the Islanders' zone defense, Diene forced Montana State to keep the ball on the perimeter. And after draining seven of their first eight 3-point attempts, the Bobcats (4-5) made just 2 of 21 from behind the arc the rest of the way, hardly living up to their reputation as the nation's second-leading 3-point shooting team.
   "He fits right into our style," said Arrow, whose team improved to 4-4 on the season after a successful 2-1 homestand. "I'd hate to think about how many easy baskets we'd have given up if he hadn't been in there."
   On the offensive end of the court, Diene was nearly non-existent. He scored only one point, and the only time the ball was passed to him, he fumbled it away.
   "I think I could have scored more," Diene said. "I didn't ask for the ball. But I was just in there to play defense and let my teammates score."
   His lack of offensive ability hardly hindered A&M-Corpus Christi, which saw four different players reach double digits in scoring. Michael Hicks matched Eneas with 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds of his own. Toby Thompson had 16 with three 3-pointers, and Lee Denmon added 13.
   In a tight game throughout, the Islanders, who lost to Montana State on the road two weeks ago, pulled away down the stretch by finishing on a 12-0 run. That was a stark contrast to their last game, in which A&M-Corpus Christi suffered through a five-minute scoring drought and lost to Valparaiso by eight.
   "A lot of the games we've been in, we fall apart in the last couple of minutes," Eneas said. "But tonight, coach told us we had to get on the winning track, and everybody knew it. So we just made a little run there and pulled out the game."

   MONTANA STATE (4-5)-Riggs 5-12 6-6 19, Rich 3-5 1-2 8, Lazosky 2-6 0-0 4, Walton 2-7 3-4 7, Brown 6-14 0-0 13, Chase 1-4 0-1 2, Conway 3-7 0-0 9, Persinger 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholson 3-9 2-3 9. Totals 25-66 12-16 71.
   TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (4-4)-Hicks 5-15 8-11 18, Kirkaldy 3-6 2-3 3-6 2-3 8, Shultz 1-3 0-0 2, Thompson 5-9 3-4 16, Denmon 3-8 6-6 13, Cook 0-0 2-2 2, Ryzhov 0-2 0-0 0, Drasutis 1-5 0-0 2, Hemsley 1-2 0-0 2, Eneas 6-12 6-9 18, Diene 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 25-63 28-39 82.
   Halftime-Montana State 43, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 40. 3-point goals-Montana State 9-29 (Riggs 3-6, Conway 3-6, Rich 1-2, Nicholson 1-4, Brown 1-6, Walton 0-1, Chase 0-2, Lazosky 0-2), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-13 (Thompson 3-4, Denmon 1-2, Ryzhov 0-1, Hicks 0-1, Eneas 0-1, Drasutis 0-4). Fouled out-Montana State, Lazosky, Riggs. Rebounds-Montana State 38 (Rich 6), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 51 (Eneas 12). Assists-Montana State 7 (Lazosky 2), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5 (Hicks 2). Total fouls-Montana State 28, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 18. A-1,884 (3,500).



Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com

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