POCATELLO, Idaho -The Idaho State men's basketball team returned home to Reed Gym this weekend to take on the Lindenwood Lions Saturday evening.
In the first half the Bengals would lead for the majority of the time, their biggest lead would stretch to seven points multiple times, but the Lions came prepared, refusing to let Idaho State pull away early. Both big men for ISU would get into foul trouble early. Brayden Parker picking up his second foul at the 10-minute mark of the first half, and Kiree Huie picking up his second foul with 5:29 remaining in the first. The Bengals took a two-point lead into halftime, 33-31, led by forward, Isaiah Griffin, who totaled 15 first half points.
Idaho State and Lindenwood would battle it out all second-half. The Bengals would extend their lead to double-digits multiple times, their largest lead of the game would be 14 points with 3:06 left in the game, however, the Lions would come back each time. Most notably when the Lions went on a 12-2 run in the final minutes of the game, cutting the Bengal lead to just three inside of 20 seconds left. The Bengals needed some clutch free-throws to extend their lead and make it a two-possession game and Isaiah Griffin delivered. Nailing both of his late-game free-throws to give the Bengals a five-point edge with 11 seconds remaining. After a missed three-point attempt by the Lions and one more Isaiah Griffin free-throw, Idaho State would survive the Lindenwood comeback attempt, 76-70.
Kiree Huie was the Bengals' leading scorer in this one as he put up a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. Isaiah Griffin once again showed up for ISU, tallying 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal, and Brayden Parker had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 16 minutes. Parker now sits 76 points shy of the 1,000 career points mark, something just 24 other Bengals have ever accomplished. Starting guard, Miguel Tomley, finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, while fellow starting guard, Maleek Arington, finished with 8 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Trent Johnson would end up playing some big minutes off the bench for the Bengals with both starting big men, Huie and Parker, in foul trouble. Johnson would play 30 minutes, score 4 points, and pull down 5 rebounds. Kolton Mitchell also provided a spark off the bench tonight, putting up 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals in 19 minutes.
The Bengals finished the game shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from deep shooting 5-of-19 from three-point territory. The Bengals tallied 11 assists, 36 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Lindenwood finished the game shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions finished with 4 assists, 32 boards, and 3 steals.
The Idaho State men's basketball team will be back on the road for their next three games. The first game on Tuesday, December 5th to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs in Fresno, California at 8:00 PM MT, the second in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday, December 9th at 6:30 PM to face off with Southern Utah University, and their final contest of the three-game road trip will be in Corvallis, Oregon for a matchup with the Oregon State Beavers on Thursday, December 21st at 5 PM MT.
