POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team will be back in action following a 9-day Thanksgiving hiatus. In the Bengals next two games they will take part in the second annual Big Sky versus Summit League Challenge. On Wednesday, December 4th the Bengals will head to Vermillion, South Dakota to face off with the University of South Dakota Coyotes, followed by a home game vs. the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Saturday, December 7th at 6 p.m. in Reed Gym. This is Idaho State's first-ever contests against South Dakota and Oral Roberts.
The game at South Dakota will be streamed on The Summit League Network and the game vs. Oral Roberts will be on ESPN+. For both games you can listen along live with Scott Gross on KISU, or you can follow along with LiveStats.
University of South Dakota (6-3)
Home (5-0), Away (1-3), Neutral (0-0)
South Dakota is 6-3 on the season and undefeated at home (5-0). The Coyotes have defeated Western Michigan, Southern, and Texas A&M Commerce so far this season. USD has four players who average double digits in scoring, however, they do not have anyone who averages more than five rebounds per game, which could pose an interesting matchup for Idaho State's defensive minded & rebound heavy team.
Oral Roberts University (2-5)
Home (2-1), Away (0-4), Neutral (0-0)
Oral Roberts will enter the contest against ISU with a 2-5 overall record and an opportunity to get a W against Northern Arizona on Wednesday, Dec. 4
th. So far this season, Oral Roberts' two wins have come against Ozark Christian and Haskell. The Golden Eagles have three players averaging 10+ PPG and three players averaging 5+ RPG.
Embry-Riddle Recap
The Eagles would take an early 5-4 lead over the Bengals, however, Idaho State would respond with a 16-0 run to gain a 20-5 lead with 13:24 remaining in the first half. The Bengals closed the half out well, going into the break up by 34 points, 53-19.
The second half was more of the same, as Idaho State would lay it on Embry-Riddle late, gaining a game-high lead of 54 points, however, Idaho State would finish the game with a 51-point win, 97-46.
Five Bengals finished the night scoring in double digits for the ISU squad, leading the way was
Connor Hollenbeck, who finished with a season-high 18 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc all in the first half. Hollenbeck would exit the game late in the first half following a hard fall following a breakaway dunk. Hollenbeck would also end his night with five rebounds and one steal.
Jake O'Neil and
Dylan Darling would tally double-double for the Bengals, O'Neil ending his night with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, 10 rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal while Darling would total 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, 10 assists, two steals, and one rebound.
Isaiah Griffin and
Evan Otten rounded out the starting group for Idaho State, Griffin finishing with five points, three rebounds, and one block, and Otten tallying five points, six rebounds, four blocks, and one steal. The bench played a big role for the Bengals tonight, led by
Jackson Greene and
Jaedyn Brown who both finished the game in double figures for scoring, Greene scoring 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, with five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 27 minutes of action, while Brown would put up 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from deep, three rebounds, and one steal in 10 minutes of play.
Quentin Meza finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep, four assists, and two rebounds,
AJ Burgin had six points on 2-of-5 shooting from three-point land, two assists, one rebound, and one steal in 14 minutes, and
Covy Kelly would record his first career points, ending the night with six points on 2-for-3 shooting from deep.
Blake Daberkow would also see action for the Bengals, in 14 minutes Daberkow would record four rebounds, one block, and one steal. Following the win Idaho State will move to 3-4 on the year, and Embry-Riddle will drop to 2-5 after the loss.
The Bengals finished the game shooting just 54.1 percent from the field, and 44.1 percent from deep finishing 15-of-34 from three-point range. Idaho State ended the game with 42 rebounds, 22 assists, and 9 steals.
Embry-Riddle finished the game shooting 29.8 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three-point territory, going 8-for-21. The Eagles would finish with 8 assists, 18 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 3rd double-double of the season (14 points & 10 rebounds) in Idaho State's win over Embry-Riddle at home on Nov. 25th (T-2nd in the Big Sky in Double-Doubles)
- Dylan Darling recorded his first career double double (10 points & 10 assists) vs. Embry-Riddle on Nov. 25th
- 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. 7th
- Idaho State is currently 2nd in the Big Sky & 54th in the Country in Blocks per Game (4.9)
- The Bengals are 1st in the Big Sky & 7th in the NCAA in Rebound Margin (+12) and 1st in the Big Sky and 19th in the Country in Offensive Rebounds per Game (14.86)
- Idaho State has been efficient in getting to the free-throw line early into this season, ranking 2nd in the Conference in FTM per Game (15.4), and 1st in FT% (78.8%) (23rd in the Nation in FT%)
- The Bengal defense has been lock down, holding opponents to just 64.4 PPG (1st in the Big Sky & 49th in the NCAA)
- Jake O'Neil has been a beast on the glass, 3rd the Big Sky and is 47th in the Country in Total Rebounds (61) and Evan Otten is 7th in the Big Sky (43)
- Jake O'Neil is 2nd in the Big Sky and 46th in the Country in Rebounds per Game (8.7)
- Evan Otten leads the Big Sky in Blocks and Blocks per Game, Otten ranks Top 11 in the entire Country in Total Blocks (17) and is 17th in the Country in Blocks per Game (2.43)
- Dylan Darling is 2nd in the Big Sky and 34th in the Nation in Assists (39) and 3rd in the BSC and 40th in the Nation in Assists per Game (5.6)
- Dylan Darling has been all but automatic from the charity stripe thus far this year, 3rd the Big Sky in FTM (30) and 4th in FT% (85.7%).
Looking Ahead
Following the Big Sky vs. Summit League Challenge, Idaho State will host Walla Walla on Saturday, Dec. 14
th at 6 p.m. and 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)
