POCATELLO, Idaho- Despite suffering an 85-73 loss to Weber State on Wednesday night in Reed Gym, Idaho State coach
Bill Evans saw a lot of positives from his team, especially in the second half after falling behind by as many as 21 points in the first period.
"I think there were some real positives," Evans said. "I don't see anything real negative. I think we did some good things. We are a team that is getting better and still finding out what we need to do to get better."
Wednesday night's game was a continuation of the contest that was suspended on January 7 in Holt Arena due to water leaking onto the court. The game resumed Wednesday with Weber State leading 13-2 with 15:02 to play in the first half.
Weber State quickly jumped out to a 35-14 lead with 6:14 left in the first half and led 45-27 at halftime. The Wildcats were 11-19 from the three-point line in the first half and shot 55 percent from the field.
The Bengals started to climb back into the game with 13:47 left and trailing 54-37. ISU went on a 15-1 run to cut the Wildcat deficit to 55-52 with 10:45 to play. Telfair sparked the run with six points and
Robert Jones III capped the run with a jumper to bring the Bengals within three. That would be the closest ISU would get.
With 8:49 left in the game Idaho State trailed 60-56 after free throws by Telfair but Weber State then stretched its lead back to 12 at 71-59 and ISU got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Idaho State shot 50 percent in the second half and held the Wildcats to 36 percent. Jones scored 18 of his career-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes while going 7-9 from the field. For the game Jones was 9-14 from the field and had eight rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals.
"I think we got him the ball in an area he can be really successful," Evans said. "I have been saying for a long time we need to get Robert Jones on the post. He is good there because not only can he score but he is a really good passer. That is his strength."
Telfair had 22 points and seven rebounds. He was 12-13 from the free throw line.
Novak Topalovic had 11 points and seven rebounds and Balin Mocsan had only six points off the bench in 27 minutes of play but the coaching staff was extremely pleased with his defense.
"I was proud of Balint and the way he defended," Evans said. "I think
Brandon Boyd did a good job defensively as well. I thought Rob Jones was good."
Idaho State shot 46.9 percent for the game and Weber State shot 45.9 percent. ISU out rebounded the Wildcats 35-28 but had 19 turnovers to nine for Weber State.
The Bengals were 21-24 from the foul line and Weber State was 15-21. Weber State hit 14 3-pointers on 30 attempts and ISU was 6-13.
"Our guys played hard in the second half," Evans said. "They scrapped and got after it. They tried to rebound. I thought their shot selection was good and I think they did some good things. I think our team played pretty well against the best team in the league."
Idaho State plays Weber State again on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in Ogden, Utah.
Notes
- Tonight was only the third time this year ISU has outrebounded an opponent.
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Ethan Telfair now has 923 career points.
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Robert Jones III had a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds. His nine made field goals and 14 attempts were also career-highs. His two steals tied his career-high.
