Idaho State Looks to End Losing Skids vs. Montana State & Montana

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's basketball team hosts Montana State and Montana this week. The Bengals will host Montana State on Thursday, January 16^th at 7 P.M, and the University of Montana on Saturday, January 18^th at 6 P.M.

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

Montana State University (6-11)
Home (5-2), Away (1-9), Neutral (0-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. MSU
1/22/2024     A         L          70-77
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
 
The Bengals are 86-110 All-Time vs. Montana State and 58-37 when playing at home. Montana State is riding an 11-game winning streak vs. Idaho State. The last win the Bengals had against MSU was on New Year's Day of 2018. The Bobcats bring in a 6-11 overall record on the season, and 1-3 record in Big Sky play, with wins over Abilene Christian, Nebraska-Omaha, and Northern Arizona.
 
Last season the Bobcats swept the Bengals in their season series, defeating ISU by 7 points at home and 8 points in Reed Gym.
 
MSU is lead in scoring this year by Brandon Walker (14.7) and Max Agbonkpolo (12.0). Both Agbonkpolo (5.1) and Walker (4.9) lead the team in rebounds per game as well.
 
University of Montana (10-7)
Home (8-1), Away (2-6), Neutral (0-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. UM
3/12/2024     N         L          58-72
3/4/2024        A         L          65-79
12/30/2023   H         L          68-76
3/6/2023        N         L          74-83
2/9/2023        H         L          61-69
 
Idaho State is 46-116 All-Time vs. Montana and 32-46 when playing at home. Montana is currently on a 6-game winning streak against Idaho State, including winning 28 of their last 29 meetings. The Griz bring in a 10-7 overall record on the season and 3-1 in conference play, with wins over Cal State Northridge, South Dakota State, and Northern Arizona.
 
Last season the Griz swept the Bengals in their season series, 3-0, including knocking the Bengals out of the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the second straight season.
 
UM is lead in scoring by Money Williams (14.2), Malik Moore (13.7), Joe Pridgen (12.8), and Kai Johnson (10.9). Joe Pridgen leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.5 boards per game.
 
Weber State Recap
Idaho State and Weber State would battle in a hard-fought, tight first-half. The Wildcats would gain the largest lead of the half right before the halftime break, taing a six point advantage into the locker room, as the Bengals trailed the Wildcats, 30-36.

In the second half the Wildcats would take it to the Bengals, stretching their lead to as many as 13 points. The Bengals would cut the lead down to seven with under 30 seconds remaining, however, it would be too little too late as the Bengals would fall to the Wildcats by a final score of 77-69.

Idaho State will drop to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play. Weber State will be move to 7-10 overall & earn their first conference win of the season, improving to 1-2.

Dylan Darling led the Bengals in scoring for the third consecutive game since returning to the starting lineup after missing Idaho State's final two non-conference games in December. Darling ended his day with a career-high 28 points on 10-17 shooting from the floor and 3-8 from deep, three assists, two blocks, and one steal. Darling would exit this game late in the second half with a hand injury after taking a hard swipe from a Wildcat defender on a driving layup attempt. Jake O'Neil would tally 15 points on 5-12 shooting from the field, 14 rebounds (10 offensive, 4 defensive), two steals, two assists, and one block. Isaiah Griffin would finish with seven points and three rebounds, and the final two starters were Connor Hollenbeck and Evan Otten. Hollenbeck putting up five points and two rebounds, and Otten would total two points, four rebounds, three steals, and one block.

Off the bench Jaedyn Brown would come in and score six points to go along with two steals and one assist in just two minutes of playing time, and Jackson Greene would put up four points, four rebounds, and one assist in 16 minutes of playing time. To finish off the scoring for the Bengals, Blake Daberkow would tally two points and one assist in 10 minutes played.

The Bengals finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, and 22.7 percent from deep finishing just 6-27 from three-point range. Idaho State ended the game with 32 rebounds, 10 assists, and 9 steals.

Weber State finished the game shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three-point territory, going 7-16. The Wildcats would finish with 12 assists, 29 boards, and 9 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
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

• The Bengals rank 1^st in the Big Sky in:
  • Free Throw Attempts Per Game (20.9) & Free Throw's Made Per Game (15.1)
  • Rebound Margin (+12) (3^rd in NCAA), Offensive Rebounds Per Game (15.21) (7^th in NCAA), & Rebounds Per Game (40.43) (21^st in NCAA)
• Idaho State is currently 2^nd in the Big Sky & 14^th in the Country in Blocks per Game (5.4)
• The Bengals are 2^nd in the Big Sky in Scoring Defense, holding opposing teams to just 67.9 PPG
• Jake O'Neil recorded his 8^th double-double of the season (15 points & 14 rebounds) in Idaho State's Jan. 11^th loss vs. Weber State (2^nd in the Big Sky & 8^th in the NCAA in Double-Doubles)
• Jake O'Neil has been a beast on the glass this season, ranking:
  • 1^st in the Big Sky and 5^th in the Country in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (4)
  • 2^nd in the Big Sky and 7^th in the Country in Rebounds Per Game (10.7)
  • 2^nd the Big Sky and is 28^th in the Country in Total Rebounds (150)
• 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 ranks 5^th in the Big Sky in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (2.36) and in Rebounds Per Game (6.4)
• Evan Otten leads the Big Sky in Blocks and Blocks per Game, Otten ranks 10^th in the entire Country in Total Blocks (39) and is 7^th in the Country in Blocks per Game (2.79)
• The Bengals have 3 players inside the Top-20 in the Big Sky in Points Per Game
  • Dylan Darling – 6^th (15.8)
  • Jake O'Neil – 14^th (13.6)
  • Isaiah Griffin – 16^th (12.2)
• Dylan Darling is 3^rd in the Big Sky in Assists (68) and 2^nd in the BSC and 30^th in the Nation in Assists per Game (5.7)
• Dylan Darling is 4^th in the Big Sky and 56^th in the NCAA in Assist to Turnover Ratio (2.62)
• Idaho State's 19-point comeback win over Northern Arizona was the largest under Ryan Looney and the biggest deficit overcome for a win since 2016

 
Looking Ahead
Following the Bengals' games against Montana State & Montana they will hit the road for a west coast road trip, traveling to Portland State for their game against the Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 23^rd at 8 P.M. MT, finished off by a date with Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 25^th at 3 P.M. MT.
 
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)