Final Box: ISU 78, Great Falls 68
POCATELLO, Idaho- Senior guard Broderick Gilchrest scored a game-high 20 points while senior center Deividas Busma knocked in 17 to lead the Bengals to a 78-68 victory Friday night over Great Falls. Idaho State improves to 1-2 while Great Falls remains at 2-4 as the match-up was an exhibition game for the Argonauts.
Busma's 17 points marked the first time in the center's career that he has scored in double digits for three straight games. He also pulled down nine boards and posted three blocks on the night in 34 minutes of play.
“Broderick [Gilchrest] had 39 for us against Colorado and has just played tremendously on the offensive end,” ISU Head Coach Joe O'Brien said. “David [Busma] was consistent last weekend against Colorado and Arizona and had good nights both nights and that's what we expect. When you have a point guard and a center that are your leaders and returning players with the most experience, you're going to have to count on them and lean on them. Offensively they're doing a good job, but I think they can do more for us to set the tone, especially on the defensive end of the floor.”
In the first start of his career, freshman Nick Mason scored 12 points and went 4-of-7 from the three-point line.
The Bengals started the game strong outscoring Great Falls 41-25 in the first half and shooting a lights-out 51.9 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from the trey while holding the Argonauts to a field-goal percentage of just 25 percent.
The second half was another story however.
With just under 16 minutes left in the second half, Great Falls went on a 20-5 run cutting the at-one-time Bengal 24-point lead down to just six. Great Falls guard Norman Towns came off the bench for the Argonauts and went 4-of-6 in the second half alone and 6-of-8 for the night from the three-point line for a team-leading 18 points. Towns' effort combined with an allowed 20 points off of turnovers in the second half made things interesting for a very green ISU squad.
The Bengals rallied in the last 10 minutes of the game behind a Gilchrest three-pointer and a strong presence from senior guard Phyllip Taylor who attacked the basket sinking a free throw followed by a jumper and another free throw to give ISU a 73-61 lead with 4:16 left to go in the contest. Busma notched his second dunk of the night at the 3:30 mark to put ISU up 10 while senior guard Mike Lacey sunk a pair of free throws to bring the score to 78-65 with 2:17 left to seal it for ISU.
Idaho State travels to Brookings, S.D., next to take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m.
--www.isubengals.com--
