Bengals Fall in OT to NAU 88-87

POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State fell to Northern Arizona University in overtime Thursday night 88-87 in Reed gym.

The Lumberjacks shot 54 percent from the field, 50 percent from behind the three point arc and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bengals ended the game shooting 49.2 percent on 29-59 shot attempts and went 21-27 to finish 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.

At the end of the first half the Bengals trailed the Lumberjacks 38-35 and seven minutes into the second half fell behind 59-46.

Idaho State then went on a 15-1 run to take back the lead at 61-60 after a basket by Austin Smellie with 10:20 left.

The game saw seven lead changes over the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The Bengals led 79-76 with 19 seconds left in the game after making one of two free throws. The lumberjacks cut that lead to 79-78 after converting two free-throws.  Idaho State then hit one of two free throws with seven seconds left allowing NAU to score a game-tying bucket with one second left.

In overtime, neither team had a lead larger than two points. Idaho State led 87-86 with 1:02 left after a basket by Chier Maker. NAU scored the go ahead basket with 52 seconds left and neither team was able to score again the rest of the way.

The Bengals were led in assists by Smellie, who recorded a career-high nine assists on the night.

Four Bengals scored in double-digits. Malik Porter led the team scoring 21 points on 7-12 field goals and 7-8 from the free throw line. He was followed by Tarik Cool who recorded 20 points on 7-13 shots from the field, including 3-5 from behind the three point arc.

Smellie had 13 points on 4-8 shots from the field and Jared Stutzman had 10 points from the field.

The Bengals and the Lumberjacks both finished with 31 rebounds with the Bengals edging out the offensive boards 6-5.

The Bengals are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8, as they play host to the Hornets of Sacramento State at 7 p.m.

Jerry Miller will be on the call on KMGI 102.5 and the game will be televised on Pluto.TV channel 543.

Follow along at ISUbengals.com for game information and results as they come in.

·        15 of the last 21 meetings between NAU and Idaho State have been decided by four points or less.

·        Austin Smellie's nine assists were a career high.

·        This is Malik Porter's third straight game with 20 points or more.

·        87 points is the most the Bengals have scored in a game since Nov. 27, 2019.