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POCATELLO, Idaho- Despite leading for a majority of the game and being up by 10 points with seven minutes remaining, the Idaho State men's basketball team dropped a 74-69 contest at Portland State on Thursday evening.
Idaho State led 54-44 with 7:01 remaining in the game after a 3-pointer by
Balint Mocsan. The Bengals then managed only two points over the next four minutes as PSU went on a 13-2 run to take a 57-56 lead with 3:27 to play.
"I am real disappointed in the way we performed over the final 10-12 minutes," Idaho State coach
Bill Evans said. "We couldn't shoot the ball, handle their pressure and we didn't get back on defense. We did not play well down the stretch."
Idaho State had a 3-point attempt to tie the game and send it to overtime with two seconds left but it felt short and the Vikings sealed the win with two free throws in the final seconds.
Geno Luzcando led the ISU attack with 18 points, seven rebounds and he tied his career-high in steals with seven.
Ethan Telfair had 15 points and
Robert Jones III had 12 points and six rebounds. Telfair now surpassed the 1,000 point barrier with his 15 points. He has 1,001 for his career at Idaho State.
Novak Topalovic had 12 points and four rebounds and was 5-7 from the field.
Idaho State shot 48 percent for the game and turned the ball over 18 times. The Bengals were 4-20 from the three-point line and 9-13 from the free throw line. Portland State shot 46.4 percent and out rebounded ISU 34-30. The Viking offense was forced into 19 turnovers.
Idaho State led 36-33 at halftime and didn't relinquish the lead until the final four minutes of the game.
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Idaho State plays at Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. mountain time.
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