POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team dropped a 75-63 contest at Sacramento State on Saturday night at The Nest.
Novak Topalovic had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bengal attack. He was 8-11 from the field.
Brandon Boyd had 15 points off the bench and
Robert Jones III had 13 points on 6-8 shooting.
"We kept fighting and working hard," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "The difference in the game was they got 62 shot attempts and we got 49. We have to do a better job of rebounding the basketball."
Idaho State shot 51 percent from the floor while Sacramento State shot 46.8 percent. A big difference in the game was the Hornets out rebounded ISU 38-25 and came up with 19 offensive rebounds which allowed for 13 extra shot attempts.
Idaho State had an early 7-4 lead after a jumper by Jones three minutes into the game. That would be the last lead of the game for the Bengals.
Although the Hornets had the lead, ISU kept the game close and trailed by one and two points at several times during the first 20 minutes. ISU was down 27-25 with 6:27 left but was outscored 16-6 over the final six minutes to trail 43-31 at the break.
Idaho State got within two points in the second half at 47-45 following a 3-pointer by Jones. Idaho State later trailed 61-57 with 5:34 remaining. ISU would get no closer as the Hornets extended their lead to as many as 14 points in the final minutes.
Idaho State returns home Thursday to host North Dakota at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym. The Bengals then host Northern Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
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