Bengals Travel to the Midwest for Matchups with Tommies and Cyclones

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team will be on their first road-trip of the season, traveling to St. Paul, Minnesota to face the St. Thomas Tommies on Friday, November 10^th at 6:30 p.m. MT and then head to Ames, Iowa to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday, November 12^th at 11 a.m. MT. This will be the second ever meeting between Idaho State and St. Thomas, the two schools met up in Pocatello last year where St. Thomas pulled out the victory 76-70. This will also be the second ever matchup between the two ISU's. The Cyclones took home the win the last time they met back in 2009, 88-68.

St. Thomas (0-1)

Home (0-0), Away (0-1), Neutral (0-0)

ISU Recent Series vs. ST

12/10/2022               H                     L          76-70
 

St. Thomas fell to Cal in their season opener on Monday, November 6^th 71-66 in Berkley, CA, giving the Golden Bears a fight till the very end. #4 Andrew Brooks led the way for the Tommies, scoring 17 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.

Iowa State University (1-0)

Home (1-0), Away (0-0), Neutral (0-0)

ISU Recent Series vs. ISU

11/13/2009               A                     L          88-68

Iowa State downed Green Bay in their home opener in Hilton Coliseum 85-44, with 4 of their 5 starters finishing in double figures. #22 Milan Momcilovic led the Cyclones in scoring with 18 and also finishing with 7 rebounds.

Warner Pacific Recap
The Bengals put on a show from the get-go, taking a nine-point lead just 6 minutes into the game thanks to a Kolton Mitchell steal and fastbreak layup. Warner Pacific would cut the Bengals' lead to just 6 points with a little over 11 minutes remaining in the first half, however, after that Idaho State was all gas and no brakes, going on a 33-4 run to end the first half, and heading into the halftime break up, 51-16.

In the second half the Bengals picked up right where they left off, opening on a 17-3 run in the first 6 minutes and 30 seconds. The Bengals went on several other runs in the second half and continued their dominance in this one till the very end, finishing with a final score of 92-36. The Bengals notch their first win of the 2023-24 season, and improve to 1-0.

All five starters finished in double figures for the Bengals tonight. Brayden Parker led the way as he put up 21 points on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 from deep, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block. Newcomer Kiree Huie had himself a coming out party for Idaho State, finishing with a double-double, totaling 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Maleek Arington finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from beyond-the-arc, two rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. Isaiah Griffin also impressed in his first game in the Orange and Black, as he put up 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, and Miguel Tomley also had a good game, scoring 11 points, going 3-of-6 from three-point land, snatching down 5 boards, and dishing out 2 assists.

The bench provided a big boost for the Bengals tonight, accounting for 24 ISU points. AJ Burgin came in and scored 10, going 2-of-5 from three, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists all in 15 minutes. Trent Johnson, Briggs Ranstrom, and true-freshman, Kolton Mitchell, were also big factors for Idaho State off the bench. Mitchell tallied 8 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in 19 minutes. Johnson was a stat sheet stuffer with 3 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 26 minutes played. And Ranstrom finished tonight with 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 9 minutes.

The Bengals finished the game shooting 59 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep making 9-of-21 shots from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 20 assists, 44 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 13 steals. The Bengals held Warner Pacific to just 28.3 percent shooting from the field and 22.2 percent from distance.

The Returning 8

3          Maleek Arington       G         So.      6-3      200     Auburn, WA

10        Miguel Tomley         G         So.      6-3      200     Surrey, BC                

12        Turner Livingston     F          R-Fr.   6-4      195     Spokane, WA

13        AJ Burgin                   G         Jr.       6-3      205     San Diego, CA

14        Jordan Hansen         G         So.      6-6      215     Seattle, WA

20        Briggs Ranstrom      F          R-Fr.   6-6      205     Eagle, ID

25        Brayden Parker        C         Gr.       6-8      250     Preston, ID

44        Louis Stormark         C         R-So.  6-9      250     Alleroed, Denmark                          

Hello my name is

0          Kolton Mitchell         G         Fr.       6-1      175     Coeur d' Alene, ID   

4          Jaedyn Brown           G         Fr.       6-4      175     Pullman, WA            

5          Laolu Kalejaiye         G         Fr.       6-0      160     Los Angeles, CA      

15        Kiree Huie                  F          Jr.       6-9      220     Grayson, GA 

21        Isaiah Griffin             F          Jr.       6-6      210     Knightdale, NC                     

22        James Bodily            G         Fr.       6-3      200     Bancroft, ID              

30        Evan Otten                C         Fr.       6-11    220     Redmond, OR

31        Trent Johnson          F          Jr.       6-7      205     Cambridge, ON        

32        Gavin Gilstrap           C         Jr.       6-11    270     Spokane, WA
 
Bengal Bites

·       The Bengals return 8 players from last season, including 2 starters and their sixth man

·       Idaho State welcomes 9 new athletes to the roster this season, 5 of which are true freshman

·       This season begins the 5^th under head coach, Ryan Looney, who looks to improve off of one of his best seasons at the helm at ISU

Looking Ahead

Following their two-match roadtrip the Bengals will be back on home in Reed Gym for their taking on Northwest University on Thursday, November 16^th at 7 p.m.

Follow the Bengals

Follow along at ISUBengals.com to keep up to date with the team. Fans can also follow the Bengals on social media  (Twitter: @IdahoStateMBB | Instagram:@Idahostatembb | Facebook:@IdahoStateMensBasketball)