POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State men's basketball team returned home to Reed Gym Thursday evening, hosting the Eastern Washington Eagles for the first of two meetings with EWU this season. The Eagles came into the game having swept the Bengals in their season series last year, and defeating Idaho State in 6 of their last 7 meetings.
Idaho State and Eastern Washington battled closely the entire first half, the Bengals would earn the largest lead of the half at eight points, 25-17, with 3:20 until halftime. However, the Eagles would end the half on a 9-3 run, cutting Idaho State's lead down to just two, 28-26 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
In the second half the Bengals began with a 5-0
Connor Hollenbeck run, giving them a five-point edge to start the half, 33-28. The Bengals would grow their lead to nine points following
Connor Hollenbeck's 4
th triple of the ballgame, 53-44 with 9:54 to play. Over the next 2 minutes EWU's Mason Williams would go on an 8-0 all on his own for the Eagles, trimming ISU's lead down to just one, 55-54, with 7:50 on the clock. The Bengals responded with their own 7-0 run, thanks to a one-handed tip in layup and a three-point jump shot from
AJ Burgin. Following an Eastern Washington bucket, Idaho State would go on an 8-0 run, fueled by two more
AJ Burgin three's, giving themselves a 14-point cushion, 70-56, the largest of the game, with 3:38 remaining. Down 14 with just over 3 minutes to play, the Eagles would try to defy the odds, outscoring ISU by 11 over the next two minutes and 45 seconds, cutting the Bengal lead to three, 72-69. The Bengals would close things out by getting some defensive stops and finishing the game a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 second, holding off the Eagles for a 78-70 win.
Idaho State would get back to their rebounding ways, limiting the Eagles to just six second half rebounds, and outrebound EWU by 15, 36-21, in the game.
Idaho State will improve to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky play. Eastern Washington will drop to 6-16 overall & 2-7 in Big Sky Conference play.
Dylan Darling was a man on a mission tonight, finishing with a career-high 29 points on 8-15 shooting from the field and 3-8 from three-point territory, a career high nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 37 minutes of action.
Connor Hollenbeck would tally 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor and 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc, one rebound, two assists, and one block.
Jake O'Neil would come close to grabbing his 11
th double-double of the season, but would fall just short as he finished with eight points on 3-5 shooting, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal, and
Isaiah Griffin would finish with seven points, five rebounds, a season high four assists, and one steal in 37 minutes of action. The final Bengal starter tonight was big man
Evan Otten. Otten would finish tonight tying his career high in blocks with five, while also putting up four rebounds, two steals, and one point.
AJ Burgin played a big role off the bench, totaling 14 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor and 4-8 shooting from three, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 18 minutes of play. Burgin would come in huge for Idaho State, sinking three of his four three-pointers in the final 7 minutes of the game. Also off the bench,
Jackson Greene would contribute three points, four rebounds, and two steals in 21 minutes of action.
The Bengals finished the game shooting 45.3 percent from the field, and just 41.3 percent from deep finishing 12-29 from three-point land. Idaho State ended the game with 36 rebounds, 14 assists, and 8 steals.
Eastern Washington finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point territory, going 5-16. The Eagles would finish with 7 assists, 21 boards, and 8 steals.
NEXT UP
Next up for Idaho State they will host rivals, the Idaho Vandals, for part of their annual Battle for King Spud rivalry matchup, where the overall combined winners between the Men's and Women's teams will bring home the King Spud trophy. Idaho State has won the trophy the last two years in a row since bringing it back.
The Bengals and Vandals are scheduled to tip off Saturday afternoon at 2 P.M. and will be streamed on ESPN+, you can listen along live with Scott Gross on KISU, or you can follow along with LiveStats.
Following their games against Idaho, the Bengals will host the Northern Colorado Bears on Monday, Feb. 3
rd at 7 P.M. Idaho State looks to avenge their overtime loss in Greeley from just a few weeks ago, and UNC will look to defend their league leading 7-1 conference record.
SUPPORT THE BENGALS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Idaho State athletic events by visiting idahostate.evenue.net/list/Athl. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 208-282-4093 or by email at
joyerin@isu.edu
FOLLOW THE BENGALS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Bengal Men's Basketball by following us on Facebook (
IdahoStateMensBasketball), Twitter (@
IdahoStateMBB), and Instagram (@
idahostatembb).
