Men's Basketball Hosts Walla Walla Saturday Night at 6 P.M.

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team will return to play this Saturday, playing their second game of their three game homestand on December 14th at 6 P.M. as the Bengals host Walla-Walla.

This game will be streamed on ESPN+, you can listen along live with Scott Gross on KISU, or you can follow along with LiveStats.

Walla Walla University (1-5)
Home (0-0), Away (1-4), Neutral (0-1)
 
Walla Walla is 1-5 on the season, their lone win coming against The Evergreen State College. WWU has three players who average double digits in scoring, and have two players who average 6+ rebounds per game.
 
Oral Roberts Recap
Oral Roberts would jump out to an early 8-2 lead in the game, however, this would be the Golden Eagles largest lead of the game, with Idaho State closing in on ORU the rest of the half, the Bengals would finally push ahead and take a four point lead into the break, 32-28.
 
The Golden Eagles would begin the second half by cutting the Idaho State lead down to just three points, but the Bengals would go on a 10-3 run to give themselves a 11-point cushion. The Bengals would go on to take care of business to close out the game, leading by a game-high 19 points before finishing off the win by 16, 71-55. After the win, Idaho State will improve to 4-5 on the season, and following the loss Oral Roberts will drop to 3-7.
 
Captain, Jake O'Neil, would come to play in this one, finishing with his 4th double-double of the season (14 points & 19 rebounds), the most rebounds in a single game in Bengal basketball since Jeff Solarin in 2014 vs. North Dakota, and tying himself for 16th in ISU Single-Game history for Rebounds. Dylan Darling and Evan Otten would have near double-doubles, Darling ending his evening with 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and one steal, while Otten would total 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Isaiah Griffin would finish with 14 points on 4-12 shooting from the floor, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal. The final Bengal starter was Connor Hollenbeck who would end with 10 points on 4-8 shooting, seven rebounds, and one assist. Jackson Greene and AJ Burgin would play big roles off the bench for Idaho State tonight, Greene finishing with six points on 3-4 shooting, a season-high four assists, one rebound, one steal, and one block in 17 minutes, while Burgin would total three points, one assist, and one rebound in 15 minutes. Also, off the bench for the Bengals, Blake Daberkow would end with two points and one rebound in six minutes while Quentin Meza would finish with one rebound and one assist.
 
The Bengals finished the game shooting just 40.4 percent from the field, and just 11.1 percent from deep finishing 2-18 from three-point range. Idaho State would continue their dominance on the glass, finishing with a season-high, 54 rebounds (17 offensive and 37 defensive) outrebounding the Golden Eagles by 35. Idaho State would also tally their third-most assists in a game this season, 17, and 3 steals.
 
Oral Roberts finished the game shooting 30.9 percent from the field and 31 percent from three-point territory (9-29). The Golden Eagles would finish with 8 assists, 19 boards, and 8 steals.

The Returning 4
4          Jaedyn Brown           G         R-Fr.   6-4      185     Pullman, WA
12        Isaiah Griffin             F          Sr.       6-6      210     Knightdale, NC
13        AJ Burgin                   G         Sr.       6-3      205     San Diego, Calif.
30        Evan Otten                C         R-Fr.   6-11    235     Redmond, OR                       
 
Hello My Name Is
0          Joey Madimba          G         Jr.       6-5      205     Mansfield, TX          
1          Dylan Darling            G         R-So.  6-1      180     Spokane, WA            
2          Nick Ghetie               G         Fr.       5-11    175     Portland, OR 
3          Quentin Meza           G         So.      6-0      180     West Valley City, UT
5          Cheikh Sow               G         Jr.       6-7      195     Theis, Senegal                     
8          Jake O'Neil                G         Gr.       6-4      210     Fruitland, ID             
10        Connor Hollenbeck  F          Gr.       6-7      225     Rapid City, SD
11        Cam Slaymaker        G         Jr.       6-4      195     Coquitlam, BC, CA   
14        Covy Kelly                 G         Jr.       6-2      182     Garden Valley, ID
21        Jackson Greene       F          Jr.       6-7      215     Atlanta, GA               
24        Justin Graham         F          Sr.       6-7      200     Colorado Springs, CO
32        Blake Daberkow       C         Jr.       6-10    235     Lincoln, NE 


 
Bengal Bites

• Idaho State brings in 12 new players for the 2024-25 campaign (1 of only 27 schools in NCAA D1)
• Jake O'Neil recorded his 4^th double-double of the season (13 points & 19 rebounds) in Idaho State's win over Oral Roberts at home on Dec. 7^th (2^nd in the Big Sky in Double-Doubles)
• Dylan Darling recorded his first career double-double (10 points & 10 assists) vs. Embry-Riddle on Nov. 25^th
• Dylan Darling became the first ISU player since Brandon Boyd in 2018 to record 20+ points and 5+ assists in the same game in the Bengals' near upset of USC on Nov. 7^th
• Idaho State is currently 2^nd in the Big Sky & 21^st in the Country in Blocks per Game (5.2)
• The Bengals are 1^st in the Big Sky & in the NCAA in Rebound Margin (+13.4) and 1^st in the Big Sky and 6^th in the Country in Offensive Rebounds per Game (15.67)
• Idaho State has been efficient in getting to the free-throw line early into this season, leading the Conference in FTM per Game (16), and in FT% (77%) (39^th in the Nation in FT%)
• Jake O'Neil has been a beast on the glass. O'Neil ranks:
• 1^st in the Big Sky and 13^th in the Country in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (3.78)
• 2^nd in the Big Sky and 18^th in the Country in Rebounds Per Game (9.9)
• 2^nd the Big Sky and is 22^nd in the Country in Total Rebounds (89)
• Jake O'Neil's 19 rebounds vs. Oral Roberts is the most in a single-game in the Big Sky this season, and is the most in a single game for an ISU player since Jeff Solarin in 2014
• Evan Otten leads the Big Sky in Blocks and Blocks per Game, Otten ranks 5^th in the entire Country in Total Blocks (27) and is 4^th in the Country in Blocks per Game (3)
• Dylan Darling is 3^rd in the Big Sky and 38^th in the Nation in Assists (51) and 2^nd in the BSC and 30^th in the Nation in Assists per Game (5.7)

 
Looking Ahead
Following the Bengals' home contest vs. Walla Walla on Saturday, Dec. 14^th at 6 p.m., Idaho State will host Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Dec. 18^th at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym before beginning Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 2^nd in Flagstaff, Arizona.
 
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)