Montana State rallied back but could not finish as the Bobcats lost for a third straight time on Saturday night.
Tyler Hall buried a jumper with 4:14 to play to give the Montana Statemen a 67-66 lead in Pocatello against Idaho State. The Bobcats would convert just one more field goal the rest of the evening as ISU won 76-69.
The win moves ISU to 10-5 in league play, 15-13 overall. The victory was Idaho State’s 10th in 13 games at Holt Arena. The loss drops Montana State to 7-9 in league, 12-16 overall. MSU lost to Montana last Saturday and to Weber State on Thursday. Saturday’s loss caps MSU’s second 3-game losing streak this season.
ISU point guard Ethan Telfair scored five straight points to swing the momentum in the Bengals’ favor on Saturday. His jump shot with 2:53 to play gave ISU the lead for good and his 3-pointer with 1:18 to play was the final dagger into the Bobcats’ hopes. Geno Luzcando snared a steal and turned it into a dunk, then hit two free throws for the final margin of victory.
Telfair poured in 31 points, his seventh game with at least 30 points this season, including his third straight. The Redlands (Oklahoma) Community College transfer is averaging 23.4 points per game during Big Sky Conference play.
Luzcando added 14 points and Gary Chivichyan added 11 points off the bench as ISU shot 45.8 percent from the floor. Telfair drilled 6-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line as ISU hit 10-of-23 from deep overall.
Hall led Montana State with 27 points. He hit five 3-pointers, giving him 91 this season, a new Montana State record. He also broke MSU’s all-time scoring record for a freshman earlier this season. Senior Marcus Colbert added 12 points and four assists, but hit just 5-of-15 from the floor. Sarp Gobeloblu hit just one of his first seven shots but rallied to hit 4-of-10 overall for 11 points off the bench. Montana State was 8-of-27 from beyond the arc, including 3-of-16 outside of Hall.
Quinton Everett led MSU with a game-high nine rebounds as the Bobcats won the battle of the boards 38-33.
