POCATELLO, Idaho - The Bengals men's basketball team returned home to Reed Gym after a three-game road trip, to host the Portland State Vikings. The Vikings took it to Idaho State in their first meeting this season, defeating ISU 59-76.
Portland State began this game hot, jumping out to an early 10-4 lead over the Bengals in just two and a half minutes. Idaho State would go on a 9-0 run to give themselves the lead, 15-12 at the 14:05 mark of the first half. The Bengals and Vikings would battle closely, with PSU knotting the score up at 29 all, followed by Idaho State ending the half on a 15-2 run, giving themselves a 44-31 lead heading into the halftime break. 44 points marks the most points the Bengals have scored in a first half against a division one opponent and in conference play this season.
When asked about the team's impressive first half performance,
Ryan Looney shared, "I think we were playing aggressively. We weren't backing down. When watching Portland State some teams are hesitant to attack them because they are so big and athletic, but I thought our guys did such a good job, especially early, of not backing down."
ISU began the second half by stretching their lead to 16, the largest of the game, at 49-33 with 18:32 to go, however, the Vikings were far from out of it. PSU would respond with their own 8-0 run, cutting the Bengals' lead down to single digits, 49-41 with 16:06 remaining. Idaho State would fend any comeback attempt Portland State had off, not allowing PSU to get closer than six points the remainder of the ballgame. Thanks to late game shot making and defensive stops, the Bengals would walk away with an 82-74 win.
Idaho State will improve to 12-13 overall, and 7-7 in Big Sky play. Portland State will fall to 16-11 overall & 8-6 in Big Sky Conference play.
Dylan Darling would end the game with his 2
nd career double-double, totaling 16 points on 5-12 shooting, a career high 13 assists, seven rebounds, and three steals. Darling's 13 assists would mark the 2
nd most in a single game this season by a Big Sky player, T-7
th most in a single game in ISU history, & most in a game by an ISU player vs. D1 opponent since 1999.
"I was taking what was there", said redshirt-sophomore guard,
Dylan Darling. "Everyone else was making plays so I was not pushing the issue and spreading the love. Guys made shots tonight and when we do that, we're a different team."
Connor Hollenbeck also had 16 points, on 5-8 shooting from the field and 2-3 from deep, and two rebounds.
Jake O'Neil finished with 15 points on 4-8 shooting from the floor and 6-8 at the charity stripe, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Isaiah Griffin tallied 12 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three-point land, two rebounds, two steals, and one assist. The final Bengal starter,
Evan Otten, would record six points on a perfect 3-3 shooting, three blocks, three rebounds, and one steal.
Off the bench
Blake Daberkow would have one of his best games in a Bengal uniform, tallying a career high 10 points on 5-8 shooting, a career high three blocks, two rebounds, and one assist in 19 minutes of play.
"I think it's important to get going as soon as you touch the court; so that we can take the pressure off the starters' backs. Especially in a home game, and such an important game like this one", says junior forward,
Blake Daberkow. "If we can relieve some of that pressure, get more points up for them so they can do their own thing, then I believe that is great for the team."
AJ Burgin would see 11 minutes of playing time, contributing seven points on 2-7 shooting from beyond the arc and two rebounds.
Jackson Greene would play 22 minutes, ending his night with five rebounds and one steal.
The Idaho State bench would come up huge for
Ryan Looney tonight, outscoring the PSU bench 17-1, thanks to 10 from Daberkow & 7 from Burgin.
"I am proud of all of our guys tonight", shares HC
Ryan Looney. "I thought we got some great contributions from
Blake Daberkow,
Connor Hollenbeck,
Isaiah Griffin, who played great on both ends of the floor, and then
Dylan Darling, which I thought he took the next step in regards to being a really really good player in the Big Sky… 13 assists to 2 turnovers, I think any head coach would take that out of their point guard any night."
When asked about the bench play in tonight's game Looney responded, "the more people playing at a high level the better we are going to be. I thought that was one of the most balanced efforts that we have had all year, however, credit to Portland State because they kind of made us play that way as well."
The Bengals finished the game shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 28.6% from deep, going 6-21 from three-point range. Idaho State ended the game with 32 rebounds, 18 assists (T-5
th most in a single game this season), and 7 steals.
Portland State finished the game shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point territory, going 5-17. The Vikings would finish with 27 boards, 6 steals, and 7 assists.
NEXT UP
Next up for the Bengals, they will host the Sacramento State Hornets on Saturday, Feb. 22
nd at 6 P.M. This will be the Bengals' second-to-last home game of the 2024-25 season, with their home finale, as well as senior day, on Monday, March 3
rd vs. Northern Arizona.
ISU's game vs. Sac State on Saturday will be streamed on ESPN+, you can listen along live with Scott Gross on KISU, or you can follow along with LiveStats.
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
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