POCATELLO, Idaho- Malik Porter scored 19 points and sparked the Idaho State men's basketball team to a 70-66 victory over Northern Arizona on Thursday evening in Flagstaff, Ariz.
An early 13-0 deficit wasn't going to do the Idaho State men's basketball team in. The Bengals then went on a 29-6 run to lead 29-19 with 3:44 left in the first half following a basket by Porter. Idaho State led the rest of the game.
"We came out flat and we knew our defensive effort needed to be better," Assistant Coach
Davis Furman said. "We encouraged them to stay confident and trust in their shots even though they weren't falling early. The bench came in and really sparked us on the defensive end."
Porter scored his 19 points on 9-16 shooting and had a team-best eight rebounds.
Austin Smellie had 11 points and
Daxton Carr added 11 points on 3-5 shooting from the three-point line. Carr also had six rebounds. The Idaho State bench outscored NAU 39-6.
"Malik was awesome," Furman said. "But everybody played an important role in the road win."
Idaho State won shooting 38 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers. The Bengals had only five turnovers while the defense forced NAU into 16.
"The turnovers stuck out the most on how we won this game," Furman said.
Idaho State was out rebounded 38-31.
Idaho State led 34-24 at halftime. NAU made several runs to get within three points but the Bengals would counter each Lumberjack run.
Idaho State led 60-51 with 4:15 left in the game following two free throws by
Jared Rodriguez. NAU got within two at 68-66 with seven seconds left in the game but
Austin Smellie sealed the win with two free throws with five seconds left.
"We did a really good job with late game management," Furman said. "I am proud of how we finished the game."
Idaho State plays at Portland State on Saturday at 8 p.m. (MST).
