Idaho State Hosts Longest Homestand of Conference Play

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Bengals men's basketball team returns home to Reed Gym for their longest homestand of conference play. Idaho State will kick things off with their Suits & Sneakers game on Thursday, Jan. 30^th against the Eastern Washington Eagles, followed by hosting their rivals, the Idaho Vandals, on Saturday, Feb. 1^st at 2 PM. The finale game of the homestand with be on Monday, Feb. 3^rd as the Bengals look to avenge their overtime loss against Northern Colorado earlier this season in Greeley.

All 3 games will be streamed on ESPN+, you can listen along live with Scott Gross on KISU, or you can follow along with LiveStats.

Eastern Washington University (6-15)
Home (5-4), Away (1-10), Neutral (0-1)
ISU Recent Series vs. EWU
2/15/2024     A         L          82-88
1/20/2024     H         L          67-79
2/25/2023     H         W         71-63
1/26/2023     A         L          68-81
2/12/2022     A         L          72-75
 
Idaho State is 33-54 All-Time vs. Eastern Washington and 23-19 when playing in Reed Gym. Eastern Washington swept Idaho State last season, and have defeated the Bengals in 6 of their last 7 meetings.
 
Eastern Washington brings in a 6-15 overall record on the season and 2-6 in conference play, with wins Seattle U, North Dakota, and Montana State.
 
Eastern Washington is lead in scoring by Andrew Cook (15), Nic McClain (13.6), and Mason Williams (12.9). Emmett Marquardt leads the team in rebounding, averaging 4.8 boards per game, followed by Sebastian Hartmann (4.4).
 
University of Idaho (9-12)
Home (6-4), Away (3-7), Neutral (0-1)
ISU Recent Series vs. UI
2/17/2024     A         L          53-55
1/18/2024     H         W         64-59
2/23/2023     H         W         65-55
1/28/2023     A         W         95-91
2/10/2022     A         W         79-70
 
Idaho State is 54-62 All-Time vs. Idaho and 34-22 when playing at home. Idaho State and the Vandals split their season series last year. However, the Bengals have defeated the Vandals in 11 of their last 13 meetings.
 
UI brings in an 9-12 overall record on the season and 4-4 in conference play, with wins over UC Riverside, Kansas City, and Northern Colorado.
 
The University of Idaho is lead in scoring by Kristian Gonzalez (11.1), Kolton Mitchell (11.1), and Tyler Mrus (10.5). Julius Mims leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.9 boards per game, followed by Jack Payne (5.1).
 
Northern Colorado University (15-6)
Home (9-1), Away (5-5), Neutral (1-0)
ISU Recent Series vs. UNC
1/4/2025        A         L          92-93 (OT)
3/10/2024     N         W         83-76
3/2/2024        H         L          79-81
2/1/2024        A         L          86-91 (2OT)
2/27/2023     A         L          72-87
 
Idaho State is 40-32 All-Time vs. Northern Colorado and 21-9 when playing inside Reed Gym. Northern Colorado took the win in their last meeting that saw the Bengals and Bears go into overtime, and end with the Bears on top, 93-92.
 
Northern Colorado brings in a 15-6 overall record on the season and 7-1 in conference play, with wins over South Dakota State, Denver, and Portland State.
 
Northern Colorado is lead in scoring by Isaiah Hawthorne (17.6), Langston Reynolds (17.1), and Brock Wisne (11.3). Isaiah Hawthorne and Langston Reynolds lead the team in rebounding, averaging 5.7 boards per game each, followed by Jaron Rillie (5.2).
 
Portland State Recap
Portland State would jump early on the Bengals, going on a 5-0 run to begin the game, followed by a 14-0 run, taking a 19-5 lead at the 11:24 mark of the first half. Idaho State responded with their own 13-0 run, cutting the Viking lead to just one point, 19-18. Idaho State gained their first lead of the game at 22-21, however after going up 32-28 with just 1:43 left in the first half, the Bengals would allow Portland State to end the half on a 9-0 run, and PSU would head into the locker rooms up 37-32 at the break.
 
Early in the second half the Bengals would come within one point of PSU multiple times; however, they would never be able to reclaim the lead, and it would be all Vikings the rest of the way. Portland State would stretch their lead to a game high 19 points on two different occasions, but when the final horn blew, the Bengals would fall to PSU by a final score of 76-59.
 
Idaho State will fall to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in Big Sky play. Portland State will improve to 13-7 overall & 5-2 in Big Sky Conference play.
 
Two players finished in double figures in scoring for Idaho State. Dylan Darling led the way with 11 points on 4-11 shooting from the field and 2-5 from deep, four assists, one steal, and one block, and Isaiah Griffin finished with 10 points on 3-14 shooting, a season high eight rebounds, and one assist. Jake O'Neil would end today with six points on 3-14 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. The Vikings defense would stymie the Bengals' top three scorers today, holding them to a combined 10-39 shooting from the field. Connor Hollenbeck tallied five points on 2-8 shooting and three rebounds, and the final Bengal starter, Evan Otten would finish with four points, six rebounds, and one assist after fouling out in just 16 minutes of play.
 
Coming off the bench Jackson Greene put up eight points on 2-5 shooting and three rebounds in 27 minutes, and Blake Daberkow would score eight points on 3-5 shooting from the field, to go along with three rebounds, one block, and one steal in 17 minutes. Also contributing off the bench, AJ Burgin would total three points and two rebounds, Joey Madimba would notch his first career bucket as a Bengal, finishing with two points on 1-3 shooting and a rebound, and Jaedyn Brown would finish with two points and two rebounds.
 
The Bengals finished the game shooting just 31.3 percent from the field, and 15 percent from deep (both 3rd worst in a game this season) finishing 3-15 from three-point land. Idaho State ended the game with 38 rebounds, getting outrebounded for just the second time this entire season, 9 assists, and 3 steals.
 
Portland State finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field, the Bengals allowing a team to shooting 40% or better for the second game in a row for just the second time this season, and 38.9 percent from three-point territory, going 7-18. The Vikings would finish with 18 assists, 43 boards, and 6 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 (20.6) & Free Throw's Made Per Game (14.9)
  • Rebound Margin (+10.6) (5^th in NCAA), Offensive Rebounds Per Game (15.17) (5^th in NCAA), & Rebounds Per Game (40) (25^th in NCAA)
• The Bengals rank 2^nd in Blocks Per Game (5.1) (24^th in the Country)
• The Bengals are 2^nd in the Big Sky in Scoring Defense, holding opposing teams to just 68.3 PPG
• Jake O'Neil recorded his 10^th double-double of the season (16 points & 12 rebounds) in Idaho State's Jan. 23^rd loss at Sacramento State (2^nd in the Big Sky & 7^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 8^th in the Country in Rebounds Per Game (10.6)
  • 2^nd the Big Sky and is 22^nd in the Country in Total Rebounds (191)
• Evan Otten ranks 4^th in the Big Sky in Offensive Rebounds Per Game (2.4) and 6^th in Rebounds Per Game (6.1)
• Evan Otten leads the Big Sky in Blocks and Blocks per Game, Otten ranks 19^th in the entire Country in Total Blocks (44) and is 13^th in the Country in Blocks per Game (2.44)
• The Bengals have 3 players inside the Top-20 in the Big Sky in Points Per Game
• Dylan Darling – 6^th (16.1), Jake O'Neil – 13^th (13.2), Isaiah Griffin – 18^th (11.9)
• Dylan Darling is 3^rd in the Big Sky in Assists (92) and 2^nd in the BSC and 30^th in the Nation in Assists per Game (5.8)
• Dylan Darling leads the Big Sky and 52^nd in the NCAA in Assist to Turnover Ratio (2.56)
• In Conference play, Dylan Darling leads the Big Sky in Scoring (19.7 PPG) and is 2^nd in Assists (5.9)
• In conference play, Jake O'Neil leads the Big Sky in Steals (1.9), Dylan Darling is T-3^rd (1.6)

 
Looking Ahead
Following Idaho State's 3 game homestand the Bengals will be back on the road, this time for a 3 game roadtrip. The first game will take place in Ogden, Utah taking on Weber State on Feb. 8^th, followed by Montana on Feb. 13^th in Missoula, and capped off with Montana State in Bozeman on Feb. 15^th.
 
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)