POCATELLO, Idaho- Brandon Boyd had 19 points off the bench to lead the Idaho State men's basketball team to a 67-55 win at CSUN on Saturday afternoon at the Matadome in Northridge, Calif.
The game was tied at 33 at halftime but the Bengals outscored the Matadors by 12 in the second half to earn the victory.
"We defended better (in the second half) and got a couple of easy baskets," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "We got to the foul line but we couldn't convert them but we played hard and defended. When you defend and rebound you always have a chance."
Boyd scored his 19 points on 8-10 shooting and he was 3-4 from the three-point line.
"Brandon gave us a good spark today," Evans said. "He made a couple of big three's and was able to get to the basket."
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Novak Topalovic had 11 points and three rebounds. Jared Stutzman had 10 points, seven from the free throw line.
Geno Luzcando and Balint Mocsan each had nine points. The guard combo led the Bengals in rebounds as Luzcando had nine and Mocsan eight. Â
"I always say that if you are going to be a good rebounding team that your guards have to rebound and they did that today," Evans said.
ISU shot 47.2 percent from the field and CSUN was held to 38.9 percent. ISU out rebounded the Matadors 35-32. The Bengals had 14 assists to 13 turnovers but was 11-23 from the free throw line.
With the game tied at 33 at halftime, ISU opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 45-35 lead with 14:43 left in the game thanks to a Boyd 3-pointer.
The Bengals extended the lead to 48-37 three minutes later after a free throw by Luzcando.
CSUN would cut the ISU lead to 59-55 with just under four minutes to play. Idaho State then outscored CSUN 8-0 the rest of the way to earn the 12 point win. ISU shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half while CSUN shot 36 percent.
Idaho State opens Big Sky Conference play Dec. 30 at Weber State. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
"I like how hard we are playing," Evans said. "I think we are rebounding the ball better. I like my team."
Game Notes
- This was the first win of the season for the Bengals when scoring less than 70 points.
- It was the first win this year when less than four players have scored in double figures.
- Eight rebounds by Balint Mocsan was a career-high.
- Idaho State is 2-0 when opponents are less than 60 points.
- Jared Stutzman's seven made free throws on eight attempts was a season-high.
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Geno Luzcando has 184 career steals, ranking him second all-time in ISU history. Jim Rhode (1985-89) is first with 189.
- This is the third time since the 2010-11 season ISU has had five nonconference wins. ISU was 5-7 in nonconference play in 2015-16 and the 2010-11 team had five nonconference wins.
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