Faruq-Bey 32 Points Sparks ISU to 84-79 Victory Over CSUN

 
POCATELLO, Idaho- Ali Faruq-Bey scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Idaho State men's basketball team to a 84-79 victory over CSUN on Tuesday night in Reed Gym. The win lifts the Bengals to 5-7 going into Big Sky Conference play. The 5-7 mark is the best winning percentage for a Bengal team in nonconference play since the 2005-06 team went 7-4.

"I don't remember the last time we have won two straight Division I games," Ben Wilson said. "That is really big going into Saturday. It is all 0-0 now. We have to concentrate and get ready for Weber State now."

ISU had three players score in double figures. Faruq-Bey had 21 of his 32 in the second-half. He was 11-16 from the field and 4-7 from the three-point line. His 32 points came in 31 minutes of play.

Ethan Telfair had 19 points and six assists while Wilson had 11 points and seven rebounds.

ISU shot 46.6 percent from the field and 53.6 percent in the second half. CSUN shot 47.5 percent for the game. The Bengals out rebounded CSUN 37-34.

"I think we rebounded the ball really well," Wilson said. "That is a big thing for us. As a team that is undersized to out rebound them is a huge thing. Offensively, we made the plays we had too."

The Bengals led for a majority of the game. The Matadors jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first four minutes. The Bengals then went on a 14-0 run to take a 20-13 lead with 10:49 left in the half following a 3-pointer by Geno Luzcando.

CSUN clawed back to take a 31-30 lead with 3:12 left until halftime and led 37-36 at the break.

CSUN led 41-38 early in the second half before the Bengals responded with a 24-8 run to take a 62-49 lead with 11:17 left in the game following a layup by Faruq-Bey. Faruq-Bey scored 12 of his second-half points during the spurt by ISU.

"I thought we would defend them better than we did but we had some guys step up," Idaho State coach Bill Evans said. "You have to do that in games like this. We had four or five guys make big plays. It was a team effort."

The Matadors responded with a run of their own to cut the ISU lead to 69-68 with 4:59 remaining. That would be the closest CSUN got as ISU made seven of its final eight free throws to seal the win.

"We knew they were going to foul," Telfair said. "It was just a matter of stepping up and knocking them down. We have to stay together as a team and give each other confidence."

Idaho State opens Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Weber State in Ogden, Utah.