Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team earned its first road conference win on Saturday afternoon, beating SUU, 75-65, at the Centrum in Cedar City, Utah. Idaho State is now 6-7 in Big Sky play and 9-13 overall while Southern Utah dropped to 1-22 and 0-14 in league.
The Bengals earned the win thanks to a strong second-half from
Andre Hatchett and
Tomas Sanchez.
Chris Hansen led all scorers with 22 points but it was the second-half scoring of Hatchett who finished with 16 points and Sanchez with 14 points that sparked ISU to the win.
"It is hard to win games and it is even harder to win games on the road," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "It was a hard fought game and our guys did a good job. I am proud of them."
Hatchett scored all 16 of his points in the second half while Sanchez scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Sanchez was 12-13 from the free throw line.
"I believe in those two," Evans said. "I told them at halftime that I knew they would play better in the second half. We missed easy shots in the first half. Both of those guys really played well."
On the play of Hansen, Evans said, "He played well and showed extreme toughness."
After shooting 25.9 percent in the first half, ISU shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half. The Bengals made 13-of-21 field goals in the final stanza. ISU only turned the ball over six times while SUU was forced into 13 turnovers. ISU was 8-18 from the 3-point line.
The Bengals were out rebounded by the T-Birds 35-33. Hansen led ISU on the glass with seven. Southern Utah shot 42 percent from the field for the game.
Evann Hall had eight points off the bench in 15 minutes of play.
"It was a close game and you have to give SUU a lot of credit," Evans said. "I am still confident that they will win some games. Our guys did a nice job of competing hard."
Idaho State trailed 25-24 at halftime and 30-27 three minutes into the second half. Hatchett then scored nine of the next 12 Bengal points to put ISU on top 38-35 with 14:27 left in the game. Idaho State led the rest of the game while SUU did get within one point on two different occasions during the nine minute mark.
Idaho State's biggest lead of the game was 65-53 following a Hansen layup with 3:14 remaining. ISU maintained its lead by making 10-of-16 free throws in the final 2:09. Idaho State was 27-38 from the free throw line for the game.
"We attacked the basket really well in the second half," Evans said. "I think we deserved all 38 of those free throw attempts."
Idaho State returns to the court on Monday, Feb. 17 vs. Weber State. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at ICCU Court in Holt Arena. Fans that wear white can purchase a ticket for $8 and the first 200 students will receive a free Whiteout Weber shirt.
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