Bengals Hold Off Sacramento State 66-64

POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State men's basketball team held off a late second half run by Sacramento State to win 66-64 on Saturday night at ICCU Court in Holt Arena. ISU has won five straight home games and seven of its last eight.
 
With the win Idaho State is off to its best start in league play since the 1993-94 season with an 8-4 record. The Bengals 13-11 overall record is their sixth best start in 39 years, dating back to the 1976-77 season.
 
"We beat a good team tonight," Idaho State coach Bill Evans said. "They came to play and we had to fight for this one."
 
Junior guard Ethan Telfair led the way for the Bengals with 19 points. Sophomore guard Geno Luzcando recorded a double-double scoring 13 points and securing a career-high 10 rebounds.  Junior forward Kyle Ingram scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
 
The Bengals led by as many as 12 in the first half after they went on a 10-0 to open up a 32-20 advantage with 4:23 left in the half.
 
The Hornets used a 16-5 run late in the first half and to begin the second half to make the score 37-36.
 
The Bengals countered with a 12-0 run, which was capped off by a pair of dunks by freshman center Novak Topalovic, to go up 49-36 with 14:25 left in the second half.
 
"We really came together as a team tonight," said Topalovic. "The ball wasn't going in offensively but we managed to make it up on the defensive end."
 
ISU went without a field goal for over five minutes and the Hornets got within one at 60-59 after a 10-0 run of their own with 4:13 remaining in the game.
 
Back to back buckets by Telfair and Ingram gave ISU a 64-59 lead with 1:10 left and a last second desperation attempt was too long by Sacramento State, giving ISU the 66-64 victory. 
 
Both teams struggled shooting as Idaho State shot 37 percent from the field and just 33.3 percent in the second half. Sacramento State shot 38 percent for the game. ISU out rebounded the Hornets 45-42.
 
"Our defense saved us tonight," said Telfair. "We had to rely a lot on our defense because its the best part of our team."
 
Sophomore forward Justin Strings scored a game high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Hornets. Sophomore guard Marcus Graves and senior guard Dreon Barlett added eight points apiece. With the loss, Sacramento State falls to 3-9 in conference play and 10-13 overall.
 
Idaho State plays at Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 18. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m.