Idaho State Drops Game at Montana State

 
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team ran into a hot shooting Montana State team on Saturday afternoon at Worthington Arena in Bozeman, Montana. The Bobcats shot 57.7 percent from the field and beat the Bengals 104-84.

"Montana State is probably one of the best offensive teams in the league," Idaho State coach Bill Evans said. "They are very good offensively."

Balint Mocsan tied his career-high with 25 points on 10-12 shooting from the field. Brandon Boyd had 21 points and was 8-8 from the free throw line. Chier Maker had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"We shot the ball good and Chier played his heart out," Evans said.

Idaho State shot 55.4 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers on 22 attempts. The Bengals were 11-20 from the free throw line and out rebounded Montana State 33-32.

Montana State had 20 assists on only five turnovers while the Bengals were forced into 17 turnovers, 13 in the first half. The Bengals 17 turnovers resulted in 29 Montana State points.

"That killed us," Evans said. "We are going to work hard to continue to get better."

Idaho State led 9-5 early in the game as Mocsan scored all nine points. Idaho State's last lead of the game was 15-13 with 12:52 remaining in the first half following another 3-pointer by Mocsan.

The Bobcats took the lead for good at and later led 24-19 with 7:47 left. MSU extended its lead to 40-30 later in the first half and held a 45-36 advantage at halftime.

Montana State outscored ISU 8-2 early in the final period to race out to a 53-38 advantage.

The Bengals went on a run to cut the Montana State lead to 61-57 with 13:27 left in the game following seven points from Boyd during the stretch.

ISU stayed within striking distance, trailing only 63-59 and 71-67 with 10:35 left in the game after a layup by Mocsan.

Montana State then went on a 20-6 run to lead 91-73 with 6:30 to play. ISU got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

The Bengals return home to host Sacramento State on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in Holt Arena.

Notes
- Brandon Boyd moved into 19th place on the ISU all-time scoring list. He now has 1,092 points. Ethan Telfair is in 18th place with 1,119 points.
- Idaho State is 0-8 this year when giving up 80 points or more.
- Balint Mocsan tied his career-high with 25 points. He had 25 vs. NAU earlier in the year. His 10 made field goals was a career-high.
- Chier Maker tied his season-high in rebounds with 10.
- 17 turnovers tied the season.
- Brandon Boyd made a season-best eight free throws on eight attempts.