Bengals Drop 94-80 Contest at Northern Colorado

 
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team dropped a 94-80 decision at Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena.

Idaho State had five players score in double figures, led by Brandon Boyd's 17 points and eight rebounds.

"We played hard and but sometimes that is not enough," Idaho State coach Bill Evans said. "Brandon did a good job tonight. He got to the basket instead of settling for jump shots. We have to be aggressive in taking the ball to the basket."

Novak Topalovic had 16 points and seven boards while Balint Mocsan had 12 points and seven rebounds. Geno Luzcando had 12 points and Jared Stutzman added 11.

The Bengals shot 43.5 percent for the game but was only 6-19 from the three-point line.

The Bengals were out rebounded 42-32. Northern Colorado's Andre Spight had a game-high 30 points. The Bears shot 47.9 percent from the field.

Idaho State had an early 8-3 three minutes into the game after a 3-pointer by Blake Truman. Northern Colorado then went on a 20-0 run to lead 23-8 with 10:45 left until halftime.

The Bengals got within four at 35-31 late in the first half and trailed 37-31 at halftime.

The Bengals trailed 45-43 after a 3-pointer by Boyd five minutes to the second half and then 50-47 after a basket by Topalovic a little over a minute later. The closest ISU got the rest of the way was 55-52 with 12:28 left in the game.

Idaho State dropped to 8-8 and 3-2 in Big Sky play while Northern Colorado improved to 12-7 and 3-3 in league.

Idaho State returns home to host Portland State on Thursday, January 18 and Sacramento State on Saturday, January 20. Both games begin at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym.

Notes
- Geno Luzcando now has 1,012 points, ranking him 21st all-time and passing Ev Fopma's 1,007 points. Sam Beckham is ranked 20th with 1,021 points.
- This is Idaho State's first loss under Bill Evans when five players score in double figures. ISU is now 6-1 under Evans when five players score in double figures. This is the third time this season five players have scored in double figures for the Bengals.
- The Bengals are 0-6 this year when giving up 80 points or more.
- Brandon Boyd tied his career-high in rebounds with eight.
- Balint Mocsan played a career-high 38 minutes.


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