Idaho men’s basketball falls to North Dakota

Geno Crandall scored 22 points, and North Dakota earned its 12th straight Big Sky home win in an 88-65 blowout over Idaho on Saturday.

The game was the only regular season matchup between the two schools. With the win North Dakota maintains its one-game lead over Eastern Washington for second place in the conference standings.

Quinton Hooker finished with 21 points, and Carson Shanks added 11 for the Fighting Hawks (15-8, 10-3), who was offensively efficient all the way around. North Dakota shot 50 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range, and 85.7 percent at the free throw line.

The Fighting Hawks put together a 22-5 stretch over roughly six minutes in the first half and led 49-33 at the break. Two Crandall free throws gave North Dakota a 20-point lead, and Idaho (13-11, 8-5) never mounted a serious challenge the rest of the way.

IDAHO STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL: Marcus Graves scored 21 points, Eric Stuteville had 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Sacramento State beat Idaho State 75-63 on Saturday night.

Stuteville’s 16 rebounds tied for fourth in the program’s single-game records since the Hornets (9-14, 6-6 Big Sky) began Division 1 play in 1991.

Stuteville had a layup, a dunk and a jumper during a 10-2 run capped by Trevis Jackson’s pair of free throws to make it 71-65 with 34 seconds left.

The Bengals (5-19, 3-9) trailed by 12 at the break but closed within 50-47 after a 16-7 start to the second half. Brandon Boyd’s layup cut the deficit back to three for the fourth time at 57-54 with 10:11 left and that was as close as Idaho State would get.

Justin Strings and Izayah Mauriohoohoo-Le'Afa added 10 points each for Sacramento State.

Novak Topalovic had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Boyd scored 15 and Robert Jones III 13 for Idaho State.

IDAHO STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Estefania Ors led four Bengals in double figures with 19 points, and Idaho State beat Sacramento State 79-60 in Pocatello. Grace Kenyon nearly notched a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Idaho men’s basketball falls to North Dakota."