POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State shot double the amount of free throws than Northern Arizona and that made a huge difference as the Lumberjacks dropped a 88-66 decision to the Bengals on the road. The Bengals made 22 of 26 free throws to NAU's 8 of 12 and that was a big catalyst for ISU tonight. Freshman guard Mike Green registered 22 points, just one off his career-high, to lead NAU at Holt Arena.

"We got outscored in the second half after tying it up and that just can't happen," said head coach Jack Murphy. "We only had three turnovers in the second half, but the bad shots that we took didn't help us much either. The team fought hard tonight, but we have to find ways to stick to our game plan and convert."

Green made a triple to close out the half and send the Lumberjacks into the locker room down 44-38 at Idaho State. The Lumberjacks shot 45.2 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from long range. What kept Idaho State in the game was a 23-point performance from Geno Luzcando. The guard hit all seven of his shots, two from three-point range, to steer the Bengal offense.

While both teams made 14 shots in the first half, it was Idaho State's 11 of 11 free throws that gave it the advantage over the Lumberjacks who were 2 of 2 from the charity stripe.

The Lumberjacks came out in the second half aggressive attacking the paint. With 16:16 remaining in the game, Kris Yanku found Marcus DeBerry for the three to tie the game at 48-All.

The Bengals began to get hot again with the help of Luzcando, as they went on a 9-0 run. With 11:22 to go in the game, the Lumberjacks found themselves down 63-49.

The two teams traded baskets with the help of Green and Torry Johnson. NAU had to find a way to slow down the Bengals as it trailed 73-58 with 5:56 left in the game.

Idaho State kept finding ways to score and pull away from NAU. While the Lumberjacks slowed the play of Luzcando, Ethan Telfair and Erik Nakken began to heat up for the Bengals. Telfair finished with 21 points and eight assists, while Nakken's play off the bench garnered him 15 points. Luzcando may have had to pass the ball in the second half, but not before going 10 of 10 from the floor, 3 of 3 from three-point land, and 7 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Yanku recorded 16 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.  Johnson was the only player to score off the bench for NAU with 10 points.

The loss tonight dropped the Lumberjacks to 3-17, 1-8 BSC. The Bengals improved to 10-10, 5-3 BSC winning their last four outings.

NAU returns to the Walkup Skydome next week to host Eastern Washington on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Idaho on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Notes: Mike Green registered his second 20-point game of his career and fifth double figure scoring game…Kris Yanku extended his double digit scoring streak to 15, while tallying his 19^th double figure scoring game this season…Torry Johnson registered his eighth double figure scoring game…The Lumberjacks fell for the second straight time in Pocatello, dropping its all-time series record versus Idaho State to 45-52.