Bengals Prepare For Senior Night Against Eagles

Pocatello, ID- The Bengals men's basketball team will be back in action for their final home game of the season Saturday night for Senior Night. Idaho State will be facing off against the Eastern Washington University Eagles in Reed Gym at 6 p.m. The Bengals and Eagles faced each other earlier in the year on January 26^th in Cheney, Washington where the Eagles defeated the Bengals 81-68. Idaho State has dropped their last 10 of 12 meetings against the Eagles, including the last four in a row.

Eastern Washington University enters the contest as the hottest team in the NCAA with a 22-7 record on the season and riding a 18-game winning streak. The eagles are 16-0 in conference play, defeating Weber State in their latest matchup on Thursday. The Eagles are averaging 77.6 points per game (1^st in the Big Sky) on 49.3 percent shooting from the field (6^th in the nation), and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bengals will look to slow the Eagles down behind their lock-down defense. Idaho State's defense has been holding opponents to just 32.3 percent from three-point land (3^rd in the Big Sky), 44.5 percent shooting from the field, and average 5.9 steals per game.

The tip will be at 6 p.m. in Reed Gym. Jerry Miller will call the game on KISU and Dylan Carder will call the game on ESPN +.

Eastern Washington University (22-7)
Home (11-1), Away (9-5), Neutral (2-1)
ISU Recent Series vs. EWU
1/26/2023                 A                     L          81-68
2/12/2022                 A                     L          75-72
1/24/2022                 H                     L          89-63
3/5/2021                    A                     L          75-62
3/3/2021                    A                     W        68-63
3/5/2020                    A                     L          100-77
12/30/2019               H                     W        75-69
 
University of Idaho Recap
Pocatello, ID- The Bengals men's basketball team took on rivals, the Idaho Vandals Thursday evening. The Bengals and Vandals battled all first half as the Vandals went up five early on, however behind Brayden Parker's 11 first half points the Bengals went into the halftime break leading by six, 38-32. The Vandals stayed within reach of the Bengals all second half until with just 10 minutes remaining where Idaho State went on an 11-4 run to extend their lead to 15 with just three minutes left in the game. The Bengals used this late game run to down the Vandals by a score of 65-55 and take home the first King Spud trophy since 1979. After the win, the Bengals move to 10-19 on the season and 7-9 in conference play. The University of Idaho Vandals will drop to 10-19 on the season and 4-12 in the Big Sky after the loss.
 
Brayden Parker was the Bengals leading scorer on the night as he put up 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Brock Mackenzie tallied 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, two rebounds, and three assists. Austin Smellie finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, six rebounds, and three assists. Kolby Lee provided a big boost off the bench tonight as he put up 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, two rebounds, and one block in just eight minutes played. Miguel Tomley also chipped in on the night with nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
 
The Bengals finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from deep making 4-of-13 shots from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 14 assists, 35 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 3 steals. The University of Idaho finished the game shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from distance.
 
After Austin Smellie's 34 minutes played tonight he now becomes the longest tenured men's basketball player in Idaho State history. Austin has appeared in 140 total games for the orange and black and has played a total of 3,661 minutes. Both of which are now Bengal career records.
 
The Returning 6
0    AJ Burgin        G    So.    6-3    205    San Diego, Calif.
2    Tommy Ball    G    Fr.    6-0    175    El Dorado Hills, Calif.    
5    Austin Smellie    G    Sr.    6-5    200    Preston, Idaho
13    Daxton Carr    F    Jr.    6-7    215    Pocatello, Idaho    
22    Jared Rodriguez    F    Sr.    6-8    215    Glendale, Ariz.    
25    Brayden Parker    C    Jr.    6-8    250    Preston, Idaho        

Hello my name is
1    Jay Nagle        F    Sr.    6-9    215    Vacaville, Calif.        
3    Ronnie Stapp    G    Jr.    6-6    185    Bakersfield, Calif.        
10    Miguel Tomley    G    So.    6-3    200    Surrey, BC        
11    Brock Mackenzie    G    Sr.    6-2    185    Sammamish, Wash.    
12    Turner Livingston    F    Fr.    6-4    195    Spokane, Wash.        
14    Jordan Hansen    G    Fr.    6-6    215    Seattle, Wash.      
 20    Briggs Ranstrom    F    Fr.    6-6    205    Eagle, Idaho
23    Maleek Arington    G    Fr.    6-3    200    Lake Tapps, Wash.    
24    Ed Chang        F    Jr.    6-8    215    Papillion, Neb.      
 32    Kolby Lee        C    Sr.    6-9    240    Meridian, Idaho    
44    Louis Stormark    C    Fr.    6-9    250    Alleroed, Denmark    
 
Bengal Bites

• Miguel Tomley is currently 10^th in the Big Sky in both three-pointers made (53) and three-pointers made per game (1.89)
• Brock Mackenzie is currently 11^th in the Big Sky in three-pointers made (52)
• Brayden Parker is 6^th in the Big Sky in total blocks (26) and blocks per game (0.93)
• The Bengals' defense is currently 3^rd in the Big Sky and 92^nd in the country in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to just 32.3 percent from deep this season
• Austin Smellie has appeared in the most games (140) and has played the greatest number of minutes in a career (3,661) in Idaho State men's basketball history.
• The Idaho State men's basketball team currently concedes the highest percentage of free-throws being made in the entire 363 NCAA teams ranked. (79.4%)