Men's Basketball Plays at Montana State

Game Notes | Audio | Video | Live Stats

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team continues its road trip with 2:35 p.m. contest at Montana State on Saturday, Feb. 21. Jerry Miller will call the action live on 930 AM and 102.5 FM. To follow the game online with video, audio and live stats log onto isubengals.com.

Montana State leads the series 105-84. ISU has won four of the last five meetings in Pocatello.
Last year the Bengals beat the Bobcats 69-64 in Reed Gym. Montana State is 4-1 against ISU in the last five meetings in Bozeman. Four of the five meetings have been decided by six points or less. ISU's win in Bozeman was 87-86 on Feb. 2, 2012. Last year Idaho State lost 66-60 in Bozeman.

Montana State is 6-20 and 3-11 in Big Sky Conference play. Michael Dison leads the Bobcats in scoring at 14 points a game and Marcus Colbert is scoring 11.7 points. MSU is scoring 63.7 points a game and giving up 71.4. Montana State shoots .399 percent from the field.

Rebounding Machine
In two seasons, Jeffrey Solarin has established himself as one the best rebounders ever to wear the orange and black. He currently has 469 rebounds and is four rebounds away from passing Brand Robinson's (1975-79) 472 career rebounds to move into 10th place for total rebounds in the ISU career record book. Last year he averaged 8.5 rebounds a game. Through 26 games of the 2014-15 season he is averaging 8.8 boards a game. He had a season-high 15 rebounds vs. Weber State on Feb. 7. Solarin has eight rebounds or more in 30 of the 53 games he has appeared in as a Bengal.

Redshirt Year Pays off for Ezenwa
As a junior during the 2012-13 season, Nnamdi Ezenwa played in  all 30 games but averaged 18 minutes, 2.3 points, .4 rebounds and shot .358 percent from the field. After redshirting during the 2013-14 season, Ezenwa is now playing 31.3 minutes a game, averaging 9.3 points, shooting .455 percent from the field and grabbing 4.8 rebounds a game. He had a career-high 18 points on Nov. 26 against UVU and nine rebounds in a loss to Montana.

Hansen Putting up the Points
Chris Hansen became the 20th Bengal in ISU men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 point mark. He scored nine points vs. Bakersfield on Dec. 20 to reach the mark and he now has 1,271 points in his career. Here is where he ranks on the all-time scoring list.
1. Les Roh        1952-56    1964
2. Steve Hayes        1973-77    1933
3. Donn Holston        1982-87    1819
4. Jim Potter        1991-95    1810
5. Arthur Crump        1961-64    1557
6. Willie Humes        1969-71    1510
7. Lloyd Harris        1955-58    1489
8. Lawrence Butler        1977-79    1420
9. Frank Swopes        1959-62    1304
10.  Chris Hansen        2011-15    1271

A Game of Firsts
The win over Montana State was the first time ISU has won a game this season when trailing at halftime, being out rebounded by an opponent, committing less than 10 turnovers and shooting better than 80 percent from the free throw line. The MSU win was also the first time all season the Bengals have shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line.  The loss at Northern Arizona was also the first time the Bengals had lost a game when leading at halftime and shooting 50 percent in a game. The win over Portland State was the first time ISU has won a game when an opponent shot 40 percent or greater and it was the first Bengal win this year when giving up 70 points or more.
Take care of the ball
Since Bill Evans has been head coach at Idaho State a trait of his team has been the ability to take care of the basketball.  The Bengals went through the entire 2012-13 season without committing 20 turnovers in a game. It was the first time that had happened since the 1974-75 season. The Bengals had a season-low five turnovers in a game vs. Eastern Washington. The Bengals turned the ball over 20 times or more twice last year but did have nine games with 10 turnovers or less.  This year,  ISU have had less than 10 turnovers in seven games.  The Bengals had a low of five vs. UVU, tying the mark for the second fewest in a game since the 2006 when ISU had four against Carroll College.

King of the Three-Point Line
Chris Hansen became the ISU career 3-point leader vs. Northern Arizona. He now has made a school record 218 3-pointers on a record 567 attempts. David Schroeder held the previous record for 3-pointers made with 211 and Austin Kilpatrick held the previous mark for attempts with 510.

Playing it Close
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, 28 of Idaho State's 37 losses have been by nine points or loss. In 2013-14, 16 of ISU's 18 losses were by eight points or less and this year ISU has lost six games by nine points or less.
Losses by 9 points: vs. Bakersfield
Losses by 8 points: at Utah, at Eastern Washington (13-14); at Eastern Washington (2014-15)
Losses by 7 points: at Northern Colorado, vs. Weber State
Losses by 6 points: at Weber State, at Sacramento State, at Montana State, vs. Pacific
Losses by 5 points: vs. North Dakota, vs. Montana
Losses by 4 points: at North Dakota, at Idaho, vs. Bakersfield, at Portland State; at UVU; at SUU, vs. SUU
Losses by 3 points: vs. UVU, vs. South Dakota State, at NAU; vs. Sacramento State; ISU at Northern Colorado
Losses by 2 points: at Bakersfield, at NAU
Losses by 1 point: at Montana, vs. NAU

Here is a look where the Bengals rank in the conference stats for all- games played.
- Scoring 11th, 64.6
- Scoring Defense, 5th, 69.1
- Free throw percentage, 11th, 66.1
- Field goal percentage, 7th, 44.0
- Field goal percentage defense, 3rd, .439
- 3-point field goal percentage, 10th, 34.7
- 3-point field goal percentage defense, 5th, 36.7
- Rebounding, 6th, 32.4
- Blocks, 9th, 2.6
- Assists, 12th, 11.1
- Steals, 4th, 6.7
- Offensive Rebounds, 5th 10.0
- Defensive Rebounds, 10th, 22.5
- 3-pointers made per game, 12th, 4.9

Here is where the Bengals rank in the individual conference stats for all-games played.
- Chris Hansen, 3rd, scoring 17.2 points.
- Jeffrey Solarin, 2nd, rebounding, 8.8
- Jeffrey Solarin, 7th, field goal percenrage 54.8
- Ben Wilson, 9th, assists, 3.6
- Chris Hansen, 4th, free throw percentage, 84.5
- Ben Wilson, 9th, steals, 1.2
- Chris Hansen 3-pointers made per game, 4th, 2.7
- Ben Wilson, 5th, Assist to turnover ratio, 1.8
- Jeffrey Solarin, 2nd, offensive rebounds, 3.7
- Jeffrey Solarin, 4th defensive rebounds, 5.2
- Ben Wilson, 5th, Minutes Played, 34.3

Team Conference Stats Only
- Scoring, 10th, 68.0
- Scoring defense, 7th, 73.4
- Free Throw Percentage, 9th, 69.7
- Field Goal Percentage, 7th, .468
- Field Goal Percentage defense, 8th, .468
- 3-point field goal percentage, 2nd .426
- 3-point field goal percentage defense, 10th, .418
- Rebounding, 11th, 30.8
- Blocks, 10th, 2.5
- Assists, 11th, 11.6
- Steals, 4th, 6.3
- Offensive rebounds, 8th, 9.0
- Defensive rebounds, 10th, 21.8
- 3-pointers made per game, 12th, 5.1

Conference Only Individual Stats
- Chris Hansen, 3rd Scoring, 18.4 points
- Jeffrey Solarin, 2nd rebounding, 8.8 rebounds
- Ben Wilson, 8th, assists, 3.9
- Chris Hansen, 2nd, free throws, .874
- Ben Wilson, 10th steals, 1.2
- Chris Hansen, 3-point FG made, 5th, 2.9
- Ajak Magot, 9th, blocks 1.2
- Jeffrey Solarin, 2nd, offensive rebounds, 3.6
- Jeffrey Solarin, 4th defensive rebounds, 5.2
- Ben Wilson, 8th minutes played, 35.0