Men's Basketball | 11/23/2016 3:15:00 PM
Box Score
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team lost 71-67 to NJIT on Tuesday afternoon in Cancun, Mexico. In a game that saw 12 lead changes and nine ties, Bengal guard
Brandon Boyd led the ISU scoring with another career-high of 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
Geno Luzcando was the only other Bengal in double figures with 13 points and five rebounds.
Hayes Garrity had five points and five rebounds off the bench.
Idaho State shot 45 percent from the field and was 9-22 from the three-point line. NJIT shot 44 percent from the field and hit 11 3-pointers on 28 attempts. The Bengals hit 16-19 free throws and the Highlanders were 12-16.
"We played more under control and executed better," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "Our turnovers (15) were half the number of yesterday but even that is still too many. We got better today. Hopefully we'll get better Friday."
ISU was out rebounded 34-23.
"We didn't rebound the ball," Evans said. "They got 11 offensive rebounds and we got two."
Idaho State fell behind 16-4 in the first six minutes of the game. ISU then went on an 18-6 run to tie the game at 22 with 6:59 to play in the half. The run was capped by a
Gary Chivichyan 3-pointer.
NJIT went on an 8-0 run to lead 30-22 a little over a minute later. The Bengals countered NJIT's run with a 9-0 spurt to take a 31-30 lead following a 3-pointer by Garrity. NJIT would add a late basket to lead 32-31 at halftime.
"Hayes did a good job of helping us," Evans said. "His maturity and experience is really good that way. He calms us down and simplifies things for us."
The Bengals opened the second half by taking a 44-40 lead following two free throws by Boyd with 15:33 to play in the game. The game of runs continued when NJIT extended its lead to 56-48 following 16-4 run with 9:54 to play.
Idaho State scored the next eight points to tie the game at 56 with 7:25 remaining after a layup by Boyd. Neither team had a lead bigger than four points over the final seven minutes. Boyd tied the game at 67 with a basket with 58 seconds remaining.
The Highlanders scored the go-ahead bucket with 30 seconds left and the Bengals were unable to connect on the offensive end to tie the game.
Idaho State plays at Texas Tech on Friday, Nov. 25, at 1 p.m. This is the final game that is associated with the Cancun Challenge. Idaho State plays its home opener on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in Holt Arena vs. Lamar.
Mayan Division All-Tourney Team: Damon Lynn, Nick Mayo,
Brandon Boyd, Jaylen Babb-Harrison, Justin Seymour, and MVP D'Marcus Simonds.
