POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team led the University of Idaho from the opening tip to earn a 79-70 win over the Vandals on Thursday night at ICCU Arena in Moscow Arena in the Battle of the Domes.
Idaho State swept the season series against Idaho, winning 81-74 in Pocatello earlier in the year. This was the first road win of the season for Idaho State.
"Those are hard to come by in any conference," Idaho State coach
Ryan Looney said.
The Bengals shot 50.9 percent from the field while Idaho shot 43.3 percent. Idaho State was 11-27 from the three-point line and out rebounded the Vandals 39-27.
Tarik Cool led Idaho State with a season-high 30 points on 10-19 shooting. He was 5-8 from the three-point line and had five rebounds.
Jared Rodriguez had 16 points on 6-9 shooting while
Brayden Parker added 11 points on 4-5 shooting. Rodriguez led the team on the boards with seven.
"We got huge moments from a lot of different people," Looney said. "Daxton (Carr) made some defensive plays that we saw last year. Our entire team is playing harder and more together than earlier in the year."
Idaho State got off to a strong start by jumping out to a 21-4 lead in the first seven minutes. During that run Rodriguez scored 11 of his 16 points.
Throughout the game Idaho State withstood each run the Vandals would make. The Bengals led 30-18 with 6:45 left in the first half but was outscored 16-7 over the rest of the half to lead 37-34 at the break.
Idaho got within one several times in the first five minutes of the second half. With the Bengals clinging to a 46-45 lead, ISU went on an 8-0 run to lead 54-45 following a 3-pointer by Cool. Idaho State led by as many as 13 points in the second half.
"What I am most proud of is when they made a run we stayed poised and found a way to win the game," Looney said. "I am happy for our guys tonight. It was a huge growth moment for our team."
The Bengals play at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. (MST).
