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Bengals Use Big Second Half to Propel Themselves to Dominant 86-61 Victory Over Montana

The Idaho State men's basketball team hosted the University of Montana Grizzlies on Saturday evening. Playing their first of two regular season conference games against one another. The Griz came into the game having swept the Bengals last season, 3-0, knocking the Bengals out of the last two Big Sky Conference Tournaments, and ride a 6-game winning streak over Idaho State. Idaho State would enter searching for their first back-to-back wins over Montana State and Montana since the 2008-09 season.

Idaho State and Montana would battle closely the entire first half. The Bengals would jump out to an early 8-2 lead thanks in part to Isaiah Griffin getting off to hot start, going 3-3 from the field to begin the game. Montana would quickly cut the Bengals lead down to one point, followed by the Griz gaining their first lead of the game at 25-24, coming with 7:08 remaining in the first half. Late in the first half Montana would find themselves up by two, 36-34, however the Griz would end the half on an 8-2 run, giving themselves an eight-point edge over Idaho State, 44-36, at the halftime break.

In the second half the Bengals came out of the locker room possessed, beginning the half with a 22-2 run, making their first 12 of 18 shot attempts, rocketing themselves into a 12-point lead, 58-46 with 13:38 left to play. The Bengals would look dominant throughout the rest of the contest, surging to a game high 27-point lead, 86-59, with just 1:30 remaining. When the final buzzer sounded, Idaho State would secure the 25-point victory, 86-61, tying their 4th largest margin of victory over Montana, and earning Head Coach Ryan Looney his second career win vs. the Griz, and first in Reed Gym. Idaho State would go on to outscore the Griz 50-17, in what some might say was one of the most dominant halves in Bengal Basketball history.

Idaho State will improve to 8-8 overall and 3-2 in Big Sky play following the win. Montana will be drop to 11-8 overall & 4-2 in Big Sky Conference play.

This marks the latest in the season the Bengals have had an overall record of .500 or better since the 2020-21 COVID season, where Idaho State would begin their year with an 8-6 overall record.

Isaiah Griffin led all scorers in this one, finishing with a career high while at ISU, 23 points, on 10-17 shooting from the field and 3-5 from three-point land, one rebound, and one assist in 35 minutes played. Jake O'Neil finished with his 9th double-double on the year (2nd in the Big Sky & Top 12 in the NCAA) with 19 points on an efficient 9-12 shooting from the field and 1-2 from deep, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block, Dylan Darlingwould stuff the stat sheet in this one, ending his evening with 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds, a career high four steals, and two blocks. Connor Hollenbeck would leave his fingerprints on this game as well, ending with 15 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor and 2-3 from 3-point range, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. The final Bengal starter, Evan Otten, would finish with four points, four rebounds, and three blocks in just 20 minutes of action due to foul trouble.

Off the bench Jackson Greene would play a pivotal role for Idaho State, contributing eight points on 4-6 shooting, two rebounds, two steals, and one block in 18 minutes of action (2nd most this season). Captain, AJ Burgin, would come in and put up two points, three rebounds, and one assist in 12 minutes, and the final Bengal in the scoring column would be Quentin Meza, tallying two points, off of a perfect 2-2 from the charity stripe.

The Bengals finished the game shooting 55.9 percent from the field (2nd highest vs. D1 opponent this season), and 43.8 percent from deep finishing 7-16 from three-point land. Idaho State ended the game with 39 rebounds, 17 assists (T-2nd most vs. D1 opponents this season), and 9 steals (T-most this this season).

Montana finished the game shooting 39.3 percent from the field (4th worst in a game this year) and 42.1 percent from three-point territory, going 8-19. The Griz would finish with 14 assists, 26 boards, and 5 steals.

Next up for Idaho State they will head out on their annual west coast road trip in conference play. Traveling to Sacramento, CA for a date with the Sacramento State Hornets on Thursday, Jan. 23rd and followed by a game in Portland, OR against the Portland State Vikings, who are tied for 3rd in the Big Sky with Idaho State and Idaho at 3-2 in conference play, on Saturday Jan. 25th.
Both games 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

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).

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