Bengals Open Big Sky Play at Home Against Bobcats & Griz

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Bengals men's basketball team will be back in Reed Gym this week for the first time in nearly four weeks. Idaho State will be opening up Big Sky conference play, hosting Montana State on Thursday, December 28^th at 7 p.m. and the University of Montana on Saturday December 30^th, at 4 p.m. Scott Gross will call the game on KISU and Dylan Carder will call the game on ESPN +.
 
Montana State (5-6)
Home (4-3), Away (1-3), Neutral (0-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. MSU
2/11/2023     H         L          52 - 58
1/12/2023     A         L          68 - 81
2/7/2022        H         L          54 - 72
1/1/2022        A         L          40 - 60
 
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Montana State is coming off of a 82-70 loss against Cal State Northridge, prior to this loss the Bobcats had won their last three in a row. The Bobcats come into the game against the Bengals with a 5-6 record and one of the best in the Big Sky in three-point shooting, making 9.7 threes per game and making 33.3% of their attempts. MSU has defeated ISU in their last nine consecutive matches.
 
University of Montana (7-4)
Home (5-1), Away (2-3), Neutral (0-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. UM
3/6/2023        N         L          74 -83
2/9/2023        H         L          61 - 69
1/14/2023     A         L          55 - 84.
2/5/2022        H         W         86 -63
12/30/2021   A         L          54 - 78
 
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The Griz are coming off of a 73-61 win against UC Davis on December 19^th in Davis, CA and are winners of their last five in a row. Montana comes into the game with the second-best scoring offense in the Big Sky (76.2 PPG) and they are holding opponents to just 41.6% shooting from the field (1^st in the Big Sky)
 
Oregon State University Recap
The Bengals would strike first, thanks to two quick Kiree Huie layups, and grow their opening lead to 11-2 in just 3:30 of playing time However, Oregon State would not go away, finally gaining their first lead of the game, 22-21, with 5:44 remaining in the first half. Idaho State would fail to see the lead after that, giving up an 18-4 run in the final seven minutes of the half, heading into the break down, 36-25.
 
In the second half the Bengals withstood the Beavers runs the best they could, but Oregon State proved to be too much for the Bengals, as the final score in this contest was 76-57. Idaho State has now lost three straight games, falling to 4-7 on the season. The Beavers are now winners of their last five in a row and improve their record to 8-3.
 
Maleek Arington and Kiree Huie led the way for Idaho State in this one. Arington tied his season-high in points with 15 on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, he also had three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Huie recorded his third double-double of the season, tallying 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds, two assists, and one block. Brayden Parker finished the night with eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal, and Isaiah Griffin put up eight points, and four rebounds. Off the bench for ISU AJ Burgin played a season-high 23 minutes and totaled six points, one rebound, and one steal.
 
The Bengals finished the game shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from deep finishing 6-of-23 from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 8 assists, 31 rebounds, and 7 steals.
 
Oregon State finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Cyclones led the Bengals in rebounds, assists, and steals tonight, as they finished with 14 assists and 33 boards, and 10 steals.

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

• Brayden Parker is now T-6^th on the ISU career Blocks list with 85, tying ISU great Jim Potter after recording 2 blocks in the Bengals game against Fresno State on Dec. 5^th
• Brayden Parker now sits at 969 career points, just 31 shy of the 1,000-career point mark. Something just 24 other Bengals have ever done
• Kiree Huie leads the Big Sky in Field Goal Percentage, making 56.4% of his attempts (59^th in the country)
• Kiree Huie is 4^th in the Big Sky in Blocks (13) & 3^rd BPG (1.18)
• Brayden Parker is 5^th in the Big Sky in Blocks (11) & BPG (1)
• Maleek Arington is 4^th in the Big Sky in Assists (40) & APG (3.6)
• Maleek Arington is 2^nd in the Big Sky in Steals (20) & SPG (1.82)
• Idaho State is 2^nd the Big Sky & are 70^th in the nation in Scoring Defense (66.2)
• ISU leads the Big Sky & are 71^st in the country in Field Goal Percentage (47.3%)
• The Bengals 3-point defense is picking up where they left off last season, stifling their opponents from beyond-the-arc, holding them to just 28.5% when attempting 3-pointers (1^st in the Big Sky & 35^th in the nation)

Looking Ahead
Following their home games with Montana State and Montana the Bengals will travel out to Denver, Colorado for a date with the University of Denver Pioneers on Wednesday, January 3^rd at 7:30 p.m as part of the Big Sky vs Summit League challenge.

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)