Bengals Seek to End Streak Against Montana State

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team will be back on the road, as they will be gone for the next four games. The Bengals will travel to play Montana State, Weber State, Northern Colorado, and Northern Arizona over that span. ISU's next contest will be Monday, January 22^nd at 7 PM in Bozeman, Montana as the Bengals look to seek revenge on the Montana State Bobcats for the Bobcats' win over the Bengals in Reed Gym just a few weeks ago. Idaho State is currently on a 10-game losing streak to MSU. Be sure to follow along as Scott Gross will have the call on KISU or watch live on ESPN+.

Montana State (8-10)
Home (6-5), Away (2-5), Neutral (0-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. MSU
12/28/2023   H         L          66 - 74
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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The Bobcats come into Monday night's game with Idaho State with an 8-10 overall record and 3-2 in conference play, including a win against the Bengals in Pocatello on Dec. 28^th. In Montana State's most recent matchup they fell to rivals, Montana, 87-77. Before this loss the Bobcats had won their previous two games vs Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
 
Eastern Washington Recap
Idaho State and Eastern Washington fought hard all first half, the Eagles would lead for a majority of the half, Idaho State would not allow them to grow a lead bigger than six points. The Bengals were able to gain their first lead of the game at 29-28, following a Kiree Huie layup, with 6:19 to play in the first half. Both teams were knotted up at 33 at the 1:11 mark in the half when AJ Burgin drained his third three-pointer of the first half to give the Bengals a 36-33 lead. However, the Eagles ended the half on a 5-0 run and took a 38-36 lead into the locker room.
 
The Bengals would hold their own with the Eagles until the 15:44 mark in the second half. When EWU decided to surge out front en route to a 17-0 run, turning their lead into 20 points, 62-42. Idaho State would play catch up the rest of the game, and were able to outpace the Eagles in the final 10 minutes of the game, but it would not be enough as the Bengals would not be able to get within 10 points of Eastern Washington the rest of the contest. In the end Idaho State would fall 67-79, with the loss, Idaho State drops to 7-12 overall and 2-4 in Big Sky play. With the win, Eastern Washington improves to 11-7 overall and remains undefeated (5-0) in Big Sky play.
 
Miguel Tomley led the Bengals in tonight's contest as he put up a season-high 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor and 5-of-11 from deep, two rebounds, and one assist. Brayden Parker would tally 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and tied career-highs in blocks and steals, finishing with five blocks and four steals. Maleek Arington ended tonight's game with seven points, tied a career-high with six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Kiree Huie put up six points, four rebounds, and one steal, and the final starter for Idaho State, Isaiah Griffin, recorded two points and two rebounds. AJ Burgin came in off the bench and provided a huge spark for ISU, as he and Tomley combined for 9 of the Bengals' 11 made three-pointers. Burgin would end up tallying a career-high 16 points on a career night shooting, making 4-of-11 from beyond-the-arc, while also recording three rebounds, one assist, and his first career block, all in 23 minutes of action, tying Burgin's career-high in minutes played. Briggs Ranstrom would also make a big impact for the Bengals, Ranstrom would also play in a career-high 23 minutes, while putting up three points, three rebounds, and one steal.
 
With his 5 blocks tonight, Brayden Parker (102) moves past Jeff Cook (99) for 4th place on the ISU All-Time Blocks leaderboard. Parker also now sits at 1,093 career points. Just 27 points shy of passing Ethan Telfair for 19th place on the ISU All-Time Scoring list.
 
The Bengals finished the game shooting 38.6 percent from the field, and 37.9 percent from three-point territory, making a season-high 11-of-29 from deep. The Bengals tallied 10 assists, 29 rebounds, and 10 steals.
 
Eastern Washington finished the game shooting 59.2 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from three-point land (9-for-16). The Eagles finished with 35 rebounds, 4 steals, and 22 assists, the most assists ISU has allowed in a single game this season.

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 4^th on the ISU career Blocks list with 102, passing Jeff Cook after recording 5 blocks in the Bengals game vs Eastern Washington on Jan. 20^th
• Brayden Parker became the 25^th player in Idaho State history to reach the 1,000-career point mark after dropping a season-high 24 points in the Bengals' game vs Montana on Dec. 30^th
• Parker moved into 20^th place on the ISU All-Time scoring list, now with 1,093 career points, passing Matt Stucki (1,079) after recording 18 points vs Idaho on Jan. 18^th
• Brayden Parker is 2^nd the Big Sky in Field Goal Percentage, making 56% of his shots (52^nd in the country)
• Kiree Huie is 4^th in the Big Sky in Field Goal Percentage, making 53.9% of his attempts (74^th in the country)
• Brayden Parker is 2^nd in the Big Sky in Blocks (28) & 3^rd in BPG (1.47)
• Kiree Huie is 4^th in the Big Sky in Blocks (26) & 5^th BPG (1.37)
• Maleek Arington is 2^nd in the Big Sky in Assists (83) & APG (4.4)
• Maleek Arington is 2^nd in the Big Sky & 14^th in the country in Steals (45) & 2^nd in the Big Sky & 19^th in the country in SPG (2.37)
• Miguel Tomley is 3^rd in the Big Sky in 3-Point FGM (42) & 5^th in 3-Point FGM Per Game (2.21)
• ISU has had a big defensive presence down low, averaging 3.9 blocks per game (Leads the Big Sky)
• Idaho State has been stingy on defense, plucking 7.2 steals per game (2^nd in the Big Sky)
• The Bengals defense is only allowing 68.5 PPG to opposing teams (2^nd in the Big Sky)
• 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 33.1% when attempting 3-pointers (3^rd in the Big Sky)

Looking Ahead
Following their game at Montana State on Monday, Idaho State will be on the road for three more games, part of their longest road-trip of the season, traveling to play Weber State, Northern Colorado, and Northern Arizona over that span.

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)