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POCATELLO, Idaho- Novak Topalovic had a career-high 25 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Idaho State men's basketball team to a 71-65 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night in Reed Gym.
The Bengals improved to 9-9 overall and 4-3 in Big Sky Conference play while Sac State dropped to 5-15 and 2-5 in league.
Topalovic had his 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field in 31 minutes of play.
Geno Luzcando had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steals while
Jared Stutzman had 13 points. Stutzman was 6-7 from the free throw line.
Brandon Boyd had 10 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench.
Idaho State shot 53 percent from the field and hit 15 of 20 free throws. Sacramento State shot 41 percent, was 8-18 from the three-point line and 7-16 from the free throw line.
The Hornets led by as many as seven points early in the first half. Sac State led 24-17 and 26-19 with 8:37 left until halftime.
The Bengals then went on a 15-4 run to take a 34-30 lead with 3:40 left in the first half after a basket by Luzcando. The Bengals led the rest of the game and held a 38-37 lead at halftime.
In the first six plus minutes of the second-half, ISU outscored the Hornets 15-4 to take its biggest lead of the game at 53-41 with 13:54 left in the game.
The Hornets made a late run to get within two at 62-60 with 2:12 to play. The Bengals kept Sac State at bay by making five of seven free throws. Stutzman connected on five of the six free throw attempts in the final 18 seconds.
Idaho State returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 27 for a 7 p.m. contest vs. Weber State at ICCU Court in Holt Arena.
Notes
- This is the seventh time this season the Bengals have shot better than 50 percent from the field.
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Novak Topalovic had a career-high 25 points and 17 rebounds. He made 12 field goals on 14 attempts. He previously had 18 points vs. North Dakota on Jan. 21, 2017 and 16 rebounds at Utah Valley on Nov. 16, 2016.
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Geno Luzcando now has 1,036 points and is ranked 19
th on the ISU All-Time scoring list. Matt Stucki is ranked 18
th with 1,079 points.
- ISU is 7-2 this year when leading at halftime.
- The Bengals are 5-2 this year when shooting 50 percent or greater from the field.
- ISU is 3-0 this year when making less than five 3-pointers.
- ISU is 4-0 when four players score in double figures.
- ISU is 7-1 this year when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
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Novak Topalovic played a season-high 31 minutes.
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Gary Chivichyan had eight points off the bench in 20 minutes of play.
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