POCATELLO, Idaho-The Bengals men's basketball team took the court Thursday evening for their first game in Reed Gym this season. Idaho State faced off against the Northwest University Eagles for the second-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Bengals put on a show from the get-go, beginning the game on a 10-2 run thanks in part to an early and-one putback layup from Isaiah Griffin. The Bengals would be able to extend their lead to 18 with 8:48 left to play in the first half, but ISU would end the first half on a 14-2 run and surge to a 45-19 halftime lead.
In the second half the Bengals picked up right where they left off, opening on a 10-0 run in the first 2 minutes and 45 seconds. The Bengals continued their dominance in this one till the very end, finishing with a final score of 85-51. The Bengals notch their second win of the season, and improve to 2-2.
Four players finished with double figures for the Bengals tonight. Miguel Tomley led the way as he put up 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 from deep, three rebounds, one steal, and one assist. Kiree Huie finished with his second double-double of the season, totaling 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, a career-high 12 rebounds, and two blocks. Isaiah Griffin finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, nine rebounds, and two steals. Maleek Arington stuffed the stat sheet tonight, finishing with nine points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. Kolton Mitchell came in off the bench and impressed once again, putting up 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 20 minutes. AJ Burgin also had a good game off the bench, as he finished with seven points, four assists, one rebound, and one steal.
The Bengals finished the game shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep making 9-of-21 shots from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 19 assists, 48 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 10 steals. The Bengals held Northwest University to 35 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from distance.
The Idaho State men's basketball team will be on the road for their next three games. The first two will be in Buies Creek, North Carolina for games against the Citadel on November 20th and Campbell on November 21st and they will cap off their road trip in Malibu, CA where Pepperdine will host the Bengals on Tuesday, November 28th.
