POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team rallied past Idaho 62-60 on Saturday night in Reed Gym. The Bengals took their first lead of the game on a
Jared Stutzman 3-pointer with 2:24 left and ISU would never look back.
Austin Smellie led Idaho State with a career-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting.
Tarik Cool had 18 points.
ISU shot 40.7 percent from the field but 52 percent in the second half. The Bengals out rebounded Idaho 34-32.
Chidi Udengwu had game-high 10 and Stutzman added a season-high seven.
Idaho State was 13-18 from the free throw line and Idaho finished the night 7-13.
While Idaho State trailed for 35:30 minutes of the game, the Vandal lead was never bigger than nine points, allowing the Bengals to stay within striking distance.
Idaho State trailed 52-44 with 5:26 left in the game. The Bengals would then close out the game on a 18-8 run to earn the victory.
Baskets by Udengwu and Cool cut the Vandal lead to 52-48 with 4:14 remaining. Idaho would take a 54-50 lead with 3:23 left. Cool then hit a 3-pointer to cut the ISU deficit to 54-53 with 3:08 remaining.
Idaho would hit one free throw with 2:52 left and Stutzman, who was 0-5 from the 3-point line, made the go-ahead three for the Bengals with 2:24 left to give Idaho State its first lead at 56-55. The Bengals led 58-55 after two Smellie free throws and would lead 62-57 after a layup by Smellie in the final seconds.
Idaho State hosts Eastern Washington on Monday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym.
Notes
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Austin Smellie had a career-high 21 points.
- This was Idaho State's first win when trailing at halftime. The Bengals trailed 29-23 at the break.
- Idaho State has won four straight over Idaho. Three of the four wins have been decided by three points or less.
- This was Idaho State's first win when shooting less than 50 percent.
- This was Idaho State's first win when making five 3-pointers or less.
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Ryan Looney announced that
Brayden Parker will redshirt this year.
