Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team played a strong first half as it shot 57 percent from the field and led 31-29 at first-place Montana at halftime but the Griz started the second-half on a 15-3 run to pull-away from the Bengals and win 70-51 at Dahlberg Arena on the campus of the University of Montana.
Idaho State is 3-6 in Big Sky Conference play while Montana improved to 9-0.
Neveij Walters had a season-high 12 points to lead the Bengals in scoring while
Melvin Morgan had 10 points and four assists.
Nnamdi Ezenwa led Idaho State in rebounds with four. The Bengals shot 21.7 percent in the second half (5-for-23).
“I thought Neveij (Walters) played fairly well,” Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. “Our effort was good tonight and I thought we tried hard.”
Idaho State trailed early in the game 16-9 with 13:38 to play in the first half. The Bengals then went on a 12-4 run to take its first lead at 21-20 following a Hansen 3-pointer with 7:05 to play in the half.
“We were patient and Montana let us do what we wanted to do, allowing us to get some dunks,” Evans said.
ISU had first half leads of 24-23 with 5:59 to play in the first after a 3-pointer by Morgan, 26-25 and 31-27 after two free throws and a 3-pointer by Hatchett. The four-point lead, Idaho State's largest lead, was with 1:49 left until halftime.
After halftime, Montana went on a 15-3 run in the first four minutes to lead 44-34 and never looked back. The final 19 point margin was Montana's largest lead of the game.
“We were not good enough in the second half to get this done,” Evans said. “Montana came out with great intensity in the second half and really got after it.”
Idaho State returns to the court on Saturday, January 26, at 7 p.m. at Montana State. The game can be heard live on 102.5 KMGI and 930 KSEI.
We Are Your Bengals
