Idaho State at Idaho pregame

Idaho State at Idaho
Thursday, 8:05 p.m. MST
Cowan Spectrum, Moscow

Finding more offensive punch — Bengals begin 2015 on the road at Idaho

Tipoff » 8 p.m. MST

Live streaming » Watch Big Sky

Radio » 930 AM or 102.5 FM

Records » Idaho State (3-9); Idaho (5-6)

Series history » Idaho leads 61-41

About the Vandals » Idaho is playing in its first Big Sky Conference game since leaving the league to join the Big West in 1996. ... The Vandals have three players with double-figure scoring averages — Mike Scott at 15.5 points per game, Connor Hill at 14.4 and Sekou Wiggs at 12.5. ... Scott leads the Big Sky and is second nationally in assist-ato-turnover ratio with 4.92 assists per turnover. He also is the league’s assists per game leader with 5.4 per game (38th nationally) and is second in total assists (59, 53rd nationally). ... Idaho is second in the Big Sky averaging 76.8 points per game.

About the Bengals » Idaho State is 12th in the Big Sky scoring .926 points per possession. The Bengals are third in the conference, holding opponents to 1.034 points per possession. ... Guard Chris Hansen ranks third in school history with 178 made 3-pointers. ... Senior Nnamid Ezenwa is third on Idaho State in scoring (9.2 ppg), first in steals (20), third in assists (19) and second in rebounds (5.6 rpg).

Idaho State at Utah Valley pregame

Idaho State men
at Utah Valley
Today, 7:05 p.m.
UCCU Center (8,500)

Radio — 930 AM or 102.5 FM
Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Live video stream — WAC Digital Network
Records — Idaho State is 3-8 and Utah Valley is 3-7.
Series — Idaho State leads 4-2.
Last outing — Idaho State went 0-3 in the World Vision Classic in Logan, Utah, with losses to South Dakota State, Utah State and CSU Bakersfield. Utah Valley lost at Weber State 73-61.
Up next — Idaho State plays at Idaho (Jan. 1) and Eastern Washington (Jan. 3).

Probable starters
Utah Valley:G Donte Williams, 6-4, Jr., 7.8
G Marcel Davis, 6-1, Jr., 8.9 ppg
F Brenden Evans, 6-5, Sr., 6.8 ppg
F Zach Nelson, 6-7, So., 9.2 ppg
F Mitch Bruneel, 6-5, Sr., 12.4 ppg

Idaho State:
G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Sr., 16.4 ppg
F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Sr., 12.0 ppg
C Ajak Magot, 6-11, Sr., 3.9 ppg
G Nnamdi Ezenwa, 6-5, Sr., 9.5 ppg
G Ben Wilson, 6-6, Jr., 4.5 ppg

Games notes for Idaho State. Games notes for Utah Valley.

Idaho State vs CSU Bakersfield postgame

CSU Bakersfield 59, Idaho State 50

Records: Idaho State drops to 3-8 and Bakersfield moves to 2-10.

Key stat: In three games of the World Vision Classic, Idaho State shot 37 percent (63 for 170) from the field and went 0-3.

Key player: CSU Bakersfield’s Jaylin Airington nailed 8 of his 10 field-goal attempts for a game-high 20 points. Airington entered the game averaging six points a game while shooting 33 percent from the field.

Quotable: “I need to be more aggressive. I need to take a little bit of the load off Chris (Hansen). I’m not a shooter by trade but I can score. I just need to keep plugging away at it. It’s a learning process.” — Idaho State guard Ben Wilson on how the Bengals can improve their offense.

CSU BAKERSFIELD 59, IDAHO STATE 50
 
CSU BAKERSFIELD (2-10)Airington 8-10 1-1 20, Al. Ahmed 4-13 5-9 13, Maynor 2-7 0-0 5, Mays 2-3 0-0 4, Corbin 0-1 1-2 1, Wrapp 1-1 4-4 6, Conners 2-7 0-0 6, Ab. Ahmed 2-4 0-0 4, Richmond 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 11-16 59.

IDAHO STATE (3-8)Ezenwa 5-9 1-2 13, Wilson 4-7 2-2 10, Hansen 4-10 0-2 9, Solarin 2-6 0-0 4, Magot 0-1 1-3 1, Bradley 3-11 1-1 7, Hall 1-3 3-4 6, Luzcando 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 8-14 50.
Halftime_CS Bakersfield 32-29. 3-Point Goals_CS Bakersfield 6-17 (Airington 3-5, Conners 2-5, Maynor 1-5, Ab. Ahmed 0-2), Idaho St. 4-14 (Ezenwa 2-4, Hall 1-1, Hansen 1-5, Bradley 0-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_CS Bakersfield 34 (Al. Ahmed 11), Idaho St. 27 (Solarin 7). Assists_CS Bakersfield 15 (Wrapp 4), Idaho St. 9 (Hansen, Wilson 3). Total Fouls_CS Bakersfield 17, Idaho St. 16. A_NA.

Idaho State vs South Dakota State postgame

BENGAL BITS

South Dakota State 75, Idaho State 72 OT

Crowd: Not reported

Record: Idaho State falls to 3-6 and South Dakota State improves to 7-3.

Key stat: SDSU hits three of its four shots in overtime and drained eight free throws. ISU went two for eight from the field in extra time.

Key player(s): South Dakota State had four players reach double figures. Jeffrey Solarin (22 points) and Chris Hansen (21) were the lone Bengals to break double digits.

Quotable: “They did a good job on Chris (Hansen). I mean, 4 for 19 is not very good. … But he still needs to shoot because he made it to the line 12 times and made 10 of them. He needs to be aggressive.” — ISU coach Bill Evans on Hansen’s shooting performance.

Through their fingers — South Dakota State rallies to defeat the Bengals 75-72 in overtime 

S. DAKOTA ST. 75, IDAHO ST. 72, OT
IDAHO ST. (3-6)
Solarin 8-15 6-9 22, Ezenwa 1-3 1-2 4, Magot 3-3 2-4 8, Wilson 1-4 2-4 4, Hansen 4-19 10-12 21, Luzcando 1-4 0-2 2, Hall 1-5 0-1 2, Slavik 0-0 0-0 0, Bradley 4-10 0-0 9. Totals 23-63 21-34 72.<

S. DAKOTA ST. (7-3)
Horstman 1-2 0-0 3, Larson 6-14 5-8 17, Parks 5-15 4-6 15, Bittle 0-3 4-4 4, Marshall 4-12 5-8 15, Flatten 0-1 1-2 1, Tellinghuisen 2-7 0-0 5, Devine 5-7 3-4 13, Theisen 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-63 22-32 75.

Halftime_S. Dakota St. 30-25. End Of Regulation_Tied 60. 3-Point Goals_Idaho St. 5-20 (Hansen 3-11, Ezenwa 1-1, Bradley 1-4, Luzcando 0-2, Hall 0-2), S. Dakota St. 5-23 (Marshall 2-8, Horstman 1-1, Tellinghuisen 1-5, Parks 1-8, Flatten 0-1). Fouled Out_Bradley, Ezenwa, Larson. Rebounds_Idaho St. 45 (Solarin 10), S. Dakota St. 45 (Larson, Marshall 8). Assists_Idaho St. 10 (Wilson 5), S. Dakota St. 13 (Bittle 4). Total Fouls_Idaho St. 27, S. Dakota St. 24. A_NA.

Idaho State at the Utah State tournament pregame

Idaho State vs South Dakota St
Today, 5:30 p.m.
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)
Logan, Utah

Radio — 930 AM or 102.5 FM
Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Records — Idaho State is 3-5 and South Dakota State is 6-3.
Series — The series is tied 1-1.
Last outing — Idaho State beat Northwest Nazarene 69-57 and South Dakota State knocked off Idaho 87-85.
Up next — Idaho State continues play in the World Vision Classic against Utah State on Friday at 8 p.m.

Probable starters
South Dakota State:
F Zach Horstman, 6-6, Sr., 5.1 ppg
F Cody Larson, 6-9, Sr., 13.9 ppg
G Deondre Parks, 6-1, Jr., 14.6 ppg
G Jake Bittle, 6-4, Jr., 12.3 ppg
G Keaton Moffitt, 6-5, Jr., 4.0 ppg

Idaho State:
G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Sr., 17.8 ppg
F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Sr., 11.9 ppg
C Ajak Magot, 6-11, Sr., 2.8 ppg
G Nnamdi Ezenwa, 6-5, Sr., 9.8 ppg
G Ben Wilson, 6-6, Jr., 3.6 ppg

Bengals head to USU tourney, start 3-game stretch against South Dakota State

Find the game notes from Idaho State here. And the South Dakota State game notes here.

Check out the Big Sky's conference stats here.

Idaho State vs Northwest Nazarene postgame

Idaho State 69, Northwest Nazarene 57

TURNING IT AROUND — Solarin posts double-double in Bengal victory

Crowd: 1,391

Records: Idaho State is 3-5 and Northwest Nazarene is 2-8.

Key stat: The Bengals held NNU to 39 percent (20 for 51) shooting from the field.

Key player: ISU senior forward Jeffrey Solarin scored a season-high 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting and pulled down 14 rebounds.

Quotable: “They spread us out. Offensively, they’re a very talented team. ... They can make open shots. They had low-post player, (Kevin Rima), who just killed us. They were a tough team, a good team. They’re going to win a lot of games.” — ISU senior guard Chris Hansen on Northwest Nazarene

Idaho State vs Northwest Nazarene pregame

Northwest Nazarene at Idaho State

Today, 7:05 p.m.

Holt Arena

Radio — 930 AM or 102.5 FM
Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Free live video stream — watchbigsky.com
Records — Idaho State is 2-5 and Northwest Nazarene is 2-7.
Series — Idaho State leads 5-0.
Last outing — Idaho State beat Grand Canyon 67-51 on the road. Northwest Nazarene lost an exhibition game to Boise State, 91-51.
Up next — Idaho State travels to the Utah State tournament in Logan, Utah, to play South Dakota State (Dec. 18), Utah State (Dec. 19) and CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 20).

Probable starters
Northwest Nazarene:
F Kevin Rima, 6-7, Sr., 11.1 ppg
C Parris Massey, 6-9, Sr., 0.9 ppg
G Erik Kinney, 6-4, Jr. 13.1 ppg
G Mike Wright, 6-1, Jr. 11.2 ppg
G Aubrey Ball, 6-3, Sr., 11.3 ppg

Idaho State:
G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Sr., 17.9 ppg
F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Sr., 10.7 ppg
C Ajak Magot, 6-11, Sr., 2.3 ppg
G Nnamdi Ezenwa, 6-5, Sr., 9.3 ppg
G Ben Wilson, 6-6, Jr., 3.7 ppg

Improving Bengals host NNU in final December home game

Idaho State game notes

Read about Northwest Nazarene's loss to Boise State here.

Idaho State vs Pacific postgame

Pacific 68, Idaho State 62
Crowd: 1,554

Records: Idaho State falls to 1-5 and Pacific is now 6-3.

Key stat: Idaho State shot 39 percent from the floor (22 for 56). The Bengals have made less than 40 percent of their field goal attempts in four out of six games this season

Key player: ISU junior Marcus Bradley scored 16 points in 15 minutes. Bradley also swatted four Pacific shots.

Quotable: “There’s nothing wrong with our technique or anything like that. It’s definitely not anything that has to do with our coaches. It’s basically all on us. It’s all going to the line and stepping up with confidence, believing in ourselves and knocking them down.” — ISU senior Nnamdi Ezenwa on Idaho State’s 15 for 28 free throw performance.
 
RALLY SNUFFED — ISU comes up short in the final minutes against Pacific

Pacific at Idaho State pregame

PACIFIC AT IDAHO STATE
Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Holt Arena

Listen to the game
Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Free live video stream — here
Records — Idaho State is 1-4  and Pacific is 5-3.
Series — Idaho State leads 5-4. The last meeting was a 66-64 overtime victory of Pacific on Feb. 18, 2012 in Stockton, California.
Last outing — Idaho State beat Montana Western 86-66 at home. Pacific upended Cal State East Bay 80-51.
Up next — Idaho State plays Tuesday at Grand Canyon before returning home for a matchup with Northwest Nazarene on Dec. 13.

Probable starters
Pacific
F Eric Thompson, 6-8, 240, Jr., 9.6 ppg
F David Taylor, 6-3, 180, So., 5.6 ppg
C Sam Eleraky, 7-0, 245, So., 5.1 ppg
G T.J. Wallace, 6-3, 205, So., 13.7 ppg
G Ray Bowles, 6-5, 190, Fr., 6.8 ppg

Idaho State:
G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Sr., 18.2 ppg
F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Sr., 10.8 ppg
C Ajak Magot, 6-11, Sr., 2.4 ppg
G Nnamdi Ezenwa, 6-5, Sr., 9.6 ppg
G Ben Wilson, 6-6, Jr., 4.0 ppg

Find the game notes here

Check out the Journal's game preview here — Bengals hope to make it 2 in a row

Idaho State vs Montana Western postgame

BENGAL BITS
Idaho State 86, Montana Western 66
 
Crowd: 1,323

Records: Idaho State is 1-4 overall and Montana Western is 2-3. Tuesday was an exhibition game for the Bulldogs.

Key stat: Idaho State’s bench outscored Montana Western’s bench 38-24. Evann Hall scored 17 points in a reserve role for ISU, and both Marcus Bradley and Erik Nakken added nine points apiece.

Key player: ISU’s Chris Hansen was aggressive early, torching Montana Western for 16 points in the first half. The senior finished with 21 points in 23 minutes, while also nabbing five steals.

Quotable: “Playing at a Division I level and trying to organize a team is something I haven’t done before this year. So it was a transition. But I’m getting more comfortable running the team.” — ISU junior point guard Ben Wilson.

Bengals get 1st win — 3 ISU players score in double figures
 
And more photos are here.

Idaho State vs Montana Western pregame

MONTANA WESTERN AT IDAHO STATE
Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.
Holt Arena

Listen online
Live stats— here
Free live video stream — watchbigsky.com
Records — Idaho State is 0-4 and Montana Western is 2-3.
Series — Idaho State leads 56-3. UM Western has not defeated ISU since 1933-34.
Last outing — Idaho State lost at home to Utah Valley 60-57. Montana Western dropped a 68-65 decision to Augsburg College in Dickinson, North Dakota.
Up next — Idaho State hosts Pacific on Saturday.

Probable starters
Montana Western:
G Kris Castro, 6-4, Sr., 1.6 ppg
G Stephen McCall, 5-8, Sr., 14.2 ppg
G Jordan Overstreet, 6-2, Sr., 10.0 ppg
C Quinn Smith, 6-10, Jr., 7.8 ppg
F Dexter Williams Jr., 6-4, Jr., 9.8 pgg
Idaho State:
G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Sr., 17.5 ppg
F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Sr., 10.5 ppg
C Ajak Magot, 6-11, Sr., 2.0 ppg
G Nnamdi Ezenwa, 6-5, Sr., 9.8 ppg
G Ben Wilson, 6-6, Jr., 4.5 ppg

Check out the Journal's story previewing the game. It focuses on Idaho State junior forward Marcus Bradley, a talented guy who will have a big impact on the Bengals this season.

Games notes for Idaho State can be found here.