Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team led early but Portland State went on a second-half run to beat the Bengals 80-68 on Monday night at the Stott Center in Portland. The Bengals dropped to 4-14 and 2-4 in Big Sky play while Portland State improved to 9-9 and 3-3.
Kenny McGowen led the Bengals in scoring with 20 while
Chase Grabau had 18 points.
Abner Moreira had nine points and 10 rebounds. ISU shot 45.6 percent for the game while the Vikings shot 46.9 percent for the game.
Both teams had 31 rebounds. Idaho State turned the ball over 16 times and Portland State turned it over 14 times. Portland State was 29-for-36 from the free throw line while Idaho State was 11-for-14.
“I thought our guys competed for the most part,” Idaho State interim coach Deane Martin said. “We kept clawing and fighting the entire game.”
Idaho State got off to a solid start, jumping out to a 20-10 lead with 7:54 to play in the period after a jumper by Moreira. The lead remained 10 at 26-16 two minutes later thanks to a 3-pointer by McGowen.
“Offensively we had some things going early,” Martin said. “We hit some shots and had a good flow going.”
But over the final five minutes of the game the Vikings went on a 16-6 run to tie the game at 32 at halftime.
“It wasn't a pretty last four or five minutes,” Martin said. “We got spread out and were scrambling a bit on defense. We had a hard time guarding them off the dribble. We kept fouling and getting out of position.”
The Bengals maintained a slim lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, leading by as many as four points at two different times. But with ISU clinging to a 47-43 lead with 13:43 to play in the game, Portland State went on a 16-2 to take a 59-49 lead with 7:54 to play in the game. ISU got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Idaho State returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 21 for a contest against Northern Arizona at ICCU Court at Holt Arena. This is the first of three straight home games for the Bengals.
