POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team completed a weekend sweep beating Northern Arizona 76-70 in Flagstaff, Ariz. The Bengals lead by as many as 22 points and fought off a second-half NAU rally to secure the victory.
Austin Smellie led the Bengals in scoring and with a career-high 24 points. He was 8-10 from the field and made all four of his free-throws. He had three rebounds and four assists.
Tarik Cool had 17 points, two assists, and one steal. Malik Porter had nine points.
The Bengals led the entire game and shot 53.8% percent from the field. The team made 10 free throws on 14 attempts, had 22 rebounds, and only seven turnovers.
Idaho State dominated the first half thanks to the play of Smellie, who scored 16 points on 6-6 shooting. ISU shot 69.2 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and the Bengals led 46-25 at the break thanks to a steal and a layup by Robert Ford III in the final seconds.
In the second half, NAU cut the Idaho State lead to three points at 68-65 with two minutes to play. Thanks to a three-pointer and two free-throws by Smellie the Bengals secured the victory.
The men's basketball team will be back home in Reed Gym at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 14 to face off against Sacramento State.
