POCATELLO, Idaho - The Bengals men's basketball team played their second of two games in the Big Sky vs. Summit League Challenge on Saturday evening, hosting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles for the fourth-ever meeting between the two programs, Idaho State searching for their first win over ORU, 0-3 All-Time.
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 4
th 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 16
th 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.
"You are what you emphasize", says Head Coach
Ryan Looney. "We are working every day to create an identity. Toughness on the glass is a large part of that.
I am proud of the effort and buy in from all of our players and coaches. We are moving in the right direction, but still have a long ways to go."
The Bengals finished the game shooting 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 Idaho State men's basketball team will play their second game of their three game homestand on next Saturday, December 14
th at 6 P.M. as the Bengals host Walla-Walla.
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