Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team lost a hard fought, 85-78, battle to Eastern Washington on Thursday night in Reed Gym. The loss now puts the Bengals in a tie for fourth place with Eastern Washington at 7-7.
“That is a really talented team,” Idaho State Interim Head Coach Deane Martin said. “There is a reason why they were picked third in the league. We had some foul trouble situations early but we stayed in at halftime. We gave ourselves chances so I was proud of our guys for that.”
Junior
Melvin Morgan led the Bengals with 18 points while also recording four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Three other Bengals (9-18, 7-7 BSC) managed double figures in Thursday's loss to the Eagles (13-15, 7-7). Forward
Andre Hatchett came close to a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds while
Kenny McGowen and
Abner Moreira put up 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Idaho State shot 52.7 percent from the field while Eastern Washington shot 48.1 percent.
“That is good for us,” Martin said. “That last game at Pacific I think we shot 26 percent in the first half. I knew against this team that we would be able to get some shots. I wasn't concerned about that. My concern was on the defensive end.”
The Bengals out rebounded the Eagles 34-33. ISU had 15 assists and 15 turnovers while Eastern Washington had 13 assists and 13 turnovers.
Both teams were plagued by foul trouble as a total of 55 fouls were given throughout the game, resulting in six players fouling out.
In the first half, the Bengals came out strong by outscoring the Eagles in the paint 12-8 and outrebounding them 23-18. There were a total of five lead changes in the first half as both teams fought to stay in the game but EWU's nine 3-pointers proved to match as ISU went into the locker room trailing 42-39.
In the second half, Idaho State kept the game close by continuing to outrebound and outscore Eastern Washington in the paint. The Bengals got within one point at 79-78 with 26 seconds left in the game after a layup by Morgan but EWU went six-for-six from the free throw line to seal the victory.
The Bengals return to Reed Gym on Saturday for their last home game of the regular season against Sacramento State. The game is slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. Prior to the start of the game, seniors
Abner Moreira,
Kenny McGowen and
Chase Grabau will be honored.
“Our only concern is to play a team in Sacramento State who is playing as well as any team in the league,” Martin said. “We have to come in tomorrow, look at some film on Sacramento State and get ready for Saturday's game.”
