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POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team lost 83-62 to Washington State on Saturday afternoon in Pullman, Wash. Washington State improved to 3-0 and ISU dropped to 0-3.
The Bengals led early in the first half and trailed 35-31 at halftime but the Cougars held ISU scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second half to put the game away.
Balint Mocsan led the Bengal scoring with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Brandon Boyd had seven points, five assists, two steals and a career-high eight rebounds.
Novak Topalovic had eight points.
Idaho State shot 42.4 percent for the game and turned the ball over 17 times. The Bengals made six of 22 3-pointers and was 6-10 from the free throw line. Washington State shot 53.3 percent and made 15 3-pointers on 34 attempts. WSU out rebounded ISU 33-32.
The game was close early as ISU led 13-12 with 12:38 left until halftime following a 3-pointer by Boyd. ISU then led 15-12 after a basket by
Kyle Ingram less than a minute later.
The Bengals last lead was 24-23 with 6:04 left until halftime thanks to a 3-pointer by
Erik Nakken. Washington State then outscored ISU 12-7 over the final six minutes of the half to take the four-point halftime lead.
In the second half, ISU cut the Cougar deficit to two at 37-35 with 17:03 left in the game. Washington State led 44-39 two minutes later and 61-53 with 9:03 left in the game after a basket by Mocsan.
The Bengal then went scoreless over the next five plus minutes and didn't score until Blake Truman scored with 3:32 remaining, making the score 78-55.
Idaho State plays at San Jose State on Nov. 22.
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