Idaho Eked Out By Idaho State Late Changes Elude Hard-Luck Vandals As Bengals Escape With 70-69 Win

Idaho missed a layup at the buzzer, falling 70-69 to Idaho State in Big Sky Conference men’s basketball Saturday night.

Chad Coates missed a layup off Mark Leslie’s air ball as time ran out and the Bengals held on to a first-place tie in the conference with Weber State.

“Maybe we’ll catch a break come tournament time,” Idaho coach Joe Cravens said. “We made big plays tonight. Last night we gave away a game. Tonight we just couldn’t get a break.”

Jim Potter scored 16 points to lead Idaho State, which came from behind.

“There were a lot of tears and disappointment in the locker room,” Cravens said.

Idaho lost 68-64 after leading late in the game Friday night at Boise State.

“You can’t ask more from a group of eight kids,” Cravens added. “We made just one substitution the second half. Our guys really gutted it out.”

The win extends the Bengals’ (7-2 Big Sky, 16-4 overall) home winning streak to 14, while Idaho (3-6, 9-12) was swept by ISU this season.

Donell Morgan added 15 points for the Bengals, followed by Lorenzo Watkins with 13 and Shabaka Lends with 11.

Leslie led Idaho with 18 points. Ben Johnson and Shawn Dirden added 13 apiece.

Idaho State lead at the intermission 37-34.

The Bengals took their largest lead of the second half 45-40 with 13:22 left.

Idaho took the lead 49-47 on a 9-2 run, with Dirden hitting a break-away layin with 10:03 left.

Idaho took its largest lead, 65-58, with 4:57 to play.

ISU closed it to 69-67 with 2:41 to play on two Watkins free throws. The Bengals took the lead for good with 1:48 left on a Lends 3-pointer from the corner.

Idaho’s Leslie missed a 3 in the closing seconds.

Idaho State 70, Idaho 69

IDAHO (3-6, 9-12)

Dirden 5-12 2-2 13, Harrison 4-9 4-5 12, Gardner 5-7 1-2 11, Johnson 4-7 4-4 13, Leslie 6-15 4-4 18, Baumann 0-0 0-0 0, Coates 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-54 15-17 69.

IDAHO ST. (7-2, 16-4)

Morgan 7-13 1-2 15, Potter 7-11 2-3 16, Daniels 2-5 0-0 4, Lends 4-9 0-2 11, Watkins 3-8 6-6 13, Cotton 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Harwell 1-1 3-3 5, Preston 0-0 0-0 0, Green 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 27-51 12-16 70.

Halftime-ISU 37, UI 34. 3-Point goals-UI 4-15 (Leslie 2-8, Johson 1-2, Dirden 1-5), ISU 4-16 (Lends 3-5, Watkins 1-4, Potter 0-3, Morgan 0-2, Lee 0-1, Daniels 0-1). Fouled out-UI Harrison. ReboundsUI 25 (Harrison 9), ISU 32 (Potter, Daniels 7). Assists-UI 13 (Leslie 9), ISU 19 (Watkins 6). Total fouls-UI 18, ISU 14. A-6,6154.