Idaho State Set for Matchups with Bulldogs and Thunderbirds this Week

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Bengals men's basketball team will be back on the road this week, traveling to Fresno, California for their game on Tuesday, December 5^th at Fresno State, and then Cedar City, Utah for a date with Southern Utah University on Saturday, December 9^th.

Fresno State (3-4)

Home (2-1), Away (0-1), Neutral (1-2)

ISU Recent Series vs. Fresno State

11/29/2002   A         L          53 - 65

Fresno State is coming off of a 85-56 loss to #19 BYU in Salt Lake City last Saturday. The Bulldogs have notched victories over NM State, Morgan State, and Fresno Pacific this year.

Southern Utah (2-5)

Home (1-1), Away (0-4), Neutral (1-0)

ISU Recent Series vs. Southern Utah

12/3/2022     H         L          59 – 69

3/3/2022        H         L          71 – 79

1/22/2022     A         L          74 – 86

2/1/2020        A         L          75 – 80

1/9/2020        A         L          55 – 71

The Thunderbirds are fresh off of a 73-63 loss to Seattle U on Saturday in Seattle. Southern Utah has defeated Life Pacific University and Westminster College this season.

Lindenwood University Recap
In the first half the Bengals would lead for the majority of the time, their biggest lead would stretch to seven points multiple times, but the Lions came prepared, refusing to let Idaho State pull away early. Both big men for ISU would get into foul trouble early. Brayden Parker picking up his second foul at the 10-minute mark of the first half, and Kiree Huie picking up his second foul with 5:29 remaining in the first. The Bengals took a two-point lead into halftime, 33-31, led by forward, Isaiah Griffin, who totaled 15 first half points.

Idaho State and Lindenwood would battle it out all second-half. The Bengals would extend their lead to double-digits multiple times, their largest lead of the game would be 14 points with 3:06 left in the game, however, the Lions would come back each time. Most notably when the Lions went on a 12-2 run in the final minutes of the game, cutting the Bengal lead to just three inside of 20 seconds left. The Bengals needed some clutch free-throws to extend their lead and make it a two-possession game and Isaiah Griffin delivered. Nailing both of his late-game free-throws to give the Bengals a five-point edge with 11 seconds remaining. After a missed three-point attempt by the Lions and one more Isaiah Griffin free-throw, Idaho State would survive the Lindenwood comeback attempt, 76-70.

Kiree Huie was the Bengals' leading scorer in this one as he put up a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. Isaiah Griffin once again showed up for ISU, tallying 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal, and Brayden Parker had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 16 minutes. Parker now sits 76 points shy of the 1,000 career points mark, something just 24 other Bengals have ever accomplished. Starting guard, Miguel Tomley, finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, while fellow starting guard, Maleek Arington, finished with 8 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Trent Johnson would end up playing some big minutes off the bench for the Bengals with both starting big men, Huie and Parker, in foul trouble. Johnson would play 30 minutes, score 4 points, and pull down 5 rebounds. Kolton Mitchell also provided a spark of the bench tonight, putting up 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in 19 minutes.

The Bengals finished the game shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from deep finishing just 5-of-19 from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 11 assists, 36 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Lindenwood finished the game shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions finished with 4 assists and 32 boards, and 3 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 7^th on the ISU career Blocks list with 83, passing Austin Kilpatrick (76) on Nov. 20^th vs The Citadel

·       Brayden Parker now sits at 924 career points, just 76 shy of the 1,000-career point mark. Something only 24 other Bengals have ever done

·       Kiree Huie & Brayden Parker are tied for 3^rd in the Big Sky in Blocks (9) & BPG (1.12)

·       Maleek Arington is 2^nd in the Big Sky in Assists (30) & 3^rd in APG (3.8)

·       Maleek Arington is 4^th in the Big Sky in Steals (14) & SPG (1.75)

·       Idaho State is 2^nd the Big Sky & are 16^th in the nation in Scoring Defense (61.4)

·       ISU leads the Big Sky & are 62^nd in the country in Field Goal Percentage (47.7%)

Looking Ahead

Following their games with Fresno State and Southern Utah the Bengals will travel out to Corvallis, Oregon for their December 21^st game at Oregon State.

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)