Box Score POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team improved to 4-4 in Big Sky Conference play and 7-10 overall after beating Montana State 69-64 in front of a season-high crowd of 2,118 at Reed Gym.
Chris Hansen led Idaho State with 28 points and
Andre Hatchett scored 20 while
Tomas Sanchez had 12 points. Idaho State shot 35.8 percent from the field and held the Bobcats to 38.6 percent shooting.
"We were all frustrated after Thursday and couldn't sleep," Hatchett said. "We knew this was going to be a tough game because they beat Northern Colorado. We are a team that is never going to give up. Coach always says to fight through adversity. We had a game stolen away from us and we lost a few games that we gave away. This is a great team. I just love my team and coaches."
The Bengals out rebounded MSU 42-35 and forced 14 turnovers. ISU connected on 26-of-35 free throws while Montana State made only 10 on 18 attempts.
Ayibakuro Preh had a season-high nine rebounds while
Chris Hansen had eight and
Jeffrey Solarin finished with seven.
Montana State was led by Marcus Colberts 23 points.
"That dude made some big-time shots," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "We had to play really hard and they did. Montana State played a really good game."
The Bengals led for the majority of the game and built a lead as big as 11 points at 49-38 with 8:29 left in the game. The Bobcats then went on a run to cut the ISU lead to 49-47 two minutes later and the game would be tied at 53 with 4:28 remaining.
Idaho State extended the lead to 62-55 with 1:46 after two free throws by Hatchett and a 3-pointer by Hansen. Montana State got no closer than three points the rest of the way.
"We gave the fans what they wanted," Hatchett said. "It was a close game and we came out with a victory."
In the final 46 seconds of the game Hansen made six-of-eight free throws to help Idaho State seal the victory.
"There are a few guys in the league that shoot it better but I don't think there is any better player that shoots the ball like
Chris Hansen," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said.
There were six ties and six lead changes and the Bengals trailed by as many as nine points early in the first half before taking a 27-23 halftime lead. ISU shot 29.6 percent in the first half and MSU shot 27.6 percent.
Idaho State now returns to the road for games at Sacramento State (January 30) and Northern Arizona (February 1). Tip time for the Sacramento State game is 8:05 p.m. (MST) while the NAU game starts at 3 p.m.
We Are Your Bengals
