ISU Hosts CSUN On Wednesday in Holt

Men's Basketball | 12/4/2017 11:40:00 AM

Notes | Audio | Video | Live Stats | Tickets

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team plays its second straight home game on Wednesday, Dec. 6 vs. CSUN. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at ICCU Court in Holt Arena. Jerry Miller and Brad Bugger will call the action live on 102.5 KMGI. To follow the game online fans can log onto isubengals.com for live video, audio and stats. The game can also be viewed on Pluto TV. Following Wednesday's game ISU hosts Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Dec. 9 and Youngstown State on Dec. 18. Both games tipoff at 7 p.m. in Holt Arena.

Scouting CSUN
CSUN is 1-6, with its only victory being 76-50 over Life Pacific on Nov. 10. CSUN lost 86-68 at Montana on Dec. 3. Tavrion Dawson leads the team in scoring at 15.4 points a game. Michael Warren is scoring 12.1 points and Terrell Gomez is scoring 11.4 points and shooting 51.7 percent from the field. Warren and Zeno Lake are the top rebounders at 6.1 a game. CSUN shoots 42.7 percent from the field and scores 68.1 points a game. Opponents are shooting 47.2 percent from the field and scoring 75.7 points.

Series vs. CSUN
CSUN leads the series 9-6. The Bengals have won two of the last three meetings. Last year ISU lost 79-76 in Northridge and the year prior won 84-79 in Pocatello.
12/03/16     A     L     79-76     
12/29/2015 H     W     84-79     
2000-01     H     W     89-84     
2000-01     A     L     73-90     
1999-00     A     L     77-79     
1999-00     H     L     86-101     
1998-99     H     L     75-80     
1998-99     A     L     77-79     
1997-98     H     L     87-101     
1997-98     A     L     77-101     
1996-97     A     W     73-67     
1996-97     H     W     91-84     
1990-91     A     L     80-92     
1990-91     H     W     81-69     
1973-74     H     W     90-62

Stutzman Plays
Idaho State's Jared Stutzman received word the morning of Nov. 22 that he would he immediately be eligible to play this season. He was not on the trip to San Jose but once he received word he was good to play he boarded a plan that morning and landed late afternoon where he played and scored 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench in the loss at San Jose State. In the following game against Seattle he earned his first start of the season and in his first home game vs. Bethesda he scored a game-high 20 points.

Notes From Bethesda Game
- This was the first time ISU shot 50 percent or better from the field. (54.7 percent).
- This was the first time ISU out rebounded an opponent (44-29).
- 13 made 3-pointers was a season-high. The Bengals are 10-3 under Bill Evans when making 11 3-pointers or more.
- Geno Luzcando's 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals was a season-high.
- Novak Topalovic had a season-high 10 rebounds.
- Gary Chivichyan had a season-high 13 points.
- Brandon Boyd was unavailable due to injury.
- Houston Wahlen scored his first career-points as a Bengal in the final minute of the game.
- Geno Luzcando now has 172 career steals.
- Five rebounds by Balint Mocsan was a season-high.
- Idaho State is 7-0 under Bill Evans when scoring 90 points or more in a game.
- Idaho State is 5-0 under Bill Evans when five players score in double figures.

Mocsan In Starting Lineup
Since being inserted into the starting lineup the second game of the season, Balint Mocsan is scoring 13.6 points a game while shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line (14-28). He is shooting 80 percent from the free throw line during this stretch (4-5) and playing 25.4 minutes a game.

A Look Back
Idaho State earned its first win of the season on Dec. 1 by beating Bethesda 92-71 in Holt Arena. Five Bengals scored in double figures, led by Jared Stutzman's 20 points. Geno Luzcando had 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals. ISU shot 54.7 percent from the field and his 13 3-pointers in the game. The Bengals out rebounded Bethesda 44-29

Welcome To Bengal Basketball
Since making his debut as a Bengal against San Jose State, Jared Stutzman has led a group of newcomers in contributing on the floor. Stutzman is averaging 14 points a game in 21 minutes of play in his three games. Jacob McCord is scoring six points and playing 14 minutes a game. Blake Truman is averaging 2.2 points. Lyle Sutton has scored six points this year and Sam Dowd is averaging 2.2 points. Houston Wahlen scored his first career points against Bethesda.

Veterans Lead the Way
73.3 percent of this year's scoring comes from Bengals who played on last year's team.

Returning Scorers
While Idaho State loses Ethan Telfair's 17.5 points per game averages, the Bengals still return 61.5 percent of its scoring from last season. The returning leading scorers are Brandon Boyd (12.4), Geno Luzcando (10.6), Novak Topalovic (10.2) and Balint Mocsan (5.4).

Did You Know
- Geno Luzcando has scored in double figures in 47 games dating back to the start of his sophomore season.
- Since his sophomore year, Geno Luzcando has 42 games with two steals or more.
- Novak Topalovic has recorded five rebounds or more in 51 games since the 2015-16 season.
- Geno Luzcando has 172 career steals, ranking him second all-time in ISU history. Jim Rhode (1985-89) is first with 189.
- Geno Luzcando has 915 career points.
- Five nonconference home games are the most since
- ISU plays schools from the Pac 12, WAC, Mountain West, Big West, West Coast and the Horizon League during non conference play.
- Kyle Ingram returns for his final year after taking a  redshirt year last season. During the 2015-16 season Ingram played in all 31 games, starting 26 and he averaged six points and 4.6 rebounds a game while shooting 53 percent from the field.

The Golden Voice of ISU Athletics
Jerry Miller has been a part of Idaho State Athletics for 30 years calling games. He has
called 1,942 games during this time at ISU. Here is the breakdown and the number of
games he has called for each sport.
Men's Basketball- 21 seasons plus filling in during three others - 1416 games
Women's Basketball - 8 seasons - 222 games
Football -- 21 seasons - 245 games
Soccer - 27 games; Softball -23 games; Volleyball - 5 games

Starting Lineups
Last year ISU used 13 different starting lineup combinations and 11 different players started. Novak Topalovic was the only player who started every game last year. The Bengals have had four different starting line ups in the first six games of this year. Below is the starting lineup combinations.
Washington State: Balint Mocsan, Novak Topalovic, Brandon Boyd, Sam Dowd, Kyle Ingram
UVU and San Jose State: Kyle Ingram, Novak Topalovic, Geno Luzcando, Brandon Boyd, Bailint, Mocsan
ASU: Novak  Topalovic, Geno Luzcando, Gary Chivichyan, Brandon Boyd, Kyle Ingram
Seattle and Bethesda: Balint Mocsan, Geno Luzcando, Jared Stutzman, Novak Topalovic, Kyle Ingram

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