POCATELLO, Idaho — Idaho State men's basketball fell 61–69 to Northern Colorado on Saturday night inside Reed Gym, marking the Bengals' seventh straight loss and ninth setback in their last 11 games. Despite improved defensive effort and strong performances from Evan Otten and Caleb Van De Griend, Idaho State was unable to close late in a physical Big Sky contest.
Head coach Ryan Looney credited Northern Colorado's execution in key moments. "Extremely physical game, to say the least," Looney said. "Credit to Northern Colorado. They made a few more plays than we did."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening half was tightly contested, with both teams trading baskets and momentum in a bruising, physical setting. Idaho State leaned on interior scoring from Evan Otten and early activity on the glass from Caleb Van De Griend, while Northern Colorado countered with efficient shooting inside to hold a narrow edge. The Bears closed the half with a brief surge to take a narrow 36–34 lead into the locker room.
Idaho State came out strong in the second half and briefly seized control, building a five-point lead behind defensive stops and paint touches. Looney noted the difference in effort compared to earlier in the week. "We challenged our guys," he said. "I thought our effort was much better on that end of the floor tonight."
Momentum shifted midway through the half when Idaho State's offense stalled. "Offensively we were playing well for a portion," Looney said, "then we built a five-point lead in the second half and offense kind of fell apart, which led to some transition baskets for them."
Northern Colorado capitalized with a 16-3 run from the 15:43 to 10:23 marks, pushing the Bears back in front and forcing Idaho State to play from behind. The Bengals responded with stops and second-chance points, trimming the margin to five with under three minutes to play.
The Bengals would be unable to complete the comeback, falling to the Bears by a final score of 61-69.
PLAYER STATS
Evan Otten delivered a strong two-way performance, finishing with 11 points on 5-8 shooting, four rebounds, and one block while anchoring the Bengals defensively in the paint. Jamison Guerra added eight points, four assists, and three rebounds, while Connor Hollenbeck chipped in nine points, four rebounds, and a career-high four steals.
Martin Kheil drained the first two triples of the afternoon for Idaho State, then was held without a shot attempt the rest of the contest, finishing with six points on 2-2 shooting from deep, one rebound, one assist, and one steal. The final Bengal starter, Lachlan Brewer, contributed five points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Caleb Van De Griend led Idaho State off the bench with a team-high 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, recording his seventh double-double of the season. Looney highlighted the balance between his two post players. "We're always trying to balance which one to have on the floor," he said. "Caleb gives us a little more on the offensive end, and Evan gives us more defensively with the shot blocking."
Gus Etchison added six points, while Louis Bond and Quin Patterson contributed minutes as Idaho State relied on its depth throughout the night.
TEAM STATS
Idaho State finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (22-59) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-19) from three-point range, and 72.7 percent (11-16) at the free-throw line. The Bengals totaled 29 rebounds, 10 assists, seven steals (T-3rd most in a game this season), three blocks, and committed seven turnovers.
Northern Colorado shot 51.9 percent (28-54) from the floor, 35.3 percent (6-17) from beyond the arc, and 87.5 percent (7-8) at the free-throw line, finishing with 35 rebounds, nine assists, six blocks, three steals, and committed 13 turnovers.
BENGAL BITES
NEXT UP
Idaho State hits the road for their final multi-game road trip of the 2025-26 regular season next week. Up first the Bengals look to avenge their worst home loss of the season on Thursday, Feb. 12th in Cheney, WA against the Eastern Washington Eagles, tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. Following their contest against the Eagles, ISU will have a Valentine's Date with rivals, the Idaho Vandals, in Moscow, ID on Saturday, Feb. 14th, tipoff is set for 4 p.m. MT.
The Bengals and Vandals men's and women's teams are split 1-1 in the season series in the Battle for King Spud. If either school's men's and women's teams split the matchups on Saturday, they will win King Spud outright. If the teams split once again, then it will go to a point total tiebreaker, which the Idaho Vandals currently own by five points.
Both games will be aired on ESPN+, or can listen along to the Voice of the Bengals, Scott Gross, on KISU 91.1 FM.
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