BOISE − It was the best run at the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the Idaho State men's basketball team in years.
But the Bengals didn't take much solace in that fact.
Their unexpected Cinderella run came to an end in a 72-58 loss to Montana in the semifinal round Tuesday night at the Idaho Central Arena.
"It's not a great feeling," said junior guard Miguel Tomley who recorded a game-high 22 points and set the Idaho State single-season 3-point record on four made 3s. "I know that we made it further than ISU has in a while. But just like the competitor that we all are in the locker room, I don't think anyone was happy just getting this far.
"I think we all had the expectation that we were gonna make it all the way."
Which seemed a bit far-fetched just a little more than a week ago.
The eighth-seeded Bengals (14-20) limped into the conference tournament on a three-game slide. They had also lost five of their last six games.
But then Idaho State got hot at the right time. It started with a 68-60 win in the first round over No. 7 Northern Arizona that had beaten the Bengals in double overtime at home a little more than a week earlier. They followed that up with a 83-76 victory over No. 2 Northern Colorado had swept them during the regular season by a combined seven points.
It was the first Idaho State had won multiple conference tournament games in 37 years and its first appearance in the semis since 2009.
So a belief started to form. That maybe, just maybe the notion of the Bengals qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987 was not so crazy after all.
However, there was a major hurdle standing in their way. One that had plagued them for years − Montana.
The Grizzlies (23-10) had beaten them in 27 of the last 28 meetings. Idaho State's lone win against them over the last 13 seasons came on Feb. 5, 2022.
The trend unfortunately continued late Tuesday night.
The Bengals never led after falling into a 5-0 hole a couple of minutes into the game. They then found themselves down by double digits at 17-7 following a layup by Te'jon Sawyer at just 12-minute and 27-second mark of the first half.
Idaho State did manage to cut the deficit down to just two points twice in that half. The last of which was at 19-17 with 7:04 remaining following a 10-2 run that was capped by a jumper from junior forward Kiree Huie, who finished with 10 points.
But the Grizzlies responded with a run of their own.
They scored the next 10 points, the last of which on a pair of free throws by Dischon Thomas to suddenly make it a double-digit deficit again at 29-17 just two and a half minutes later.
Sophomore point guard Maleek Arington and junior forward Trent Johnson did make back-to-back buckets to get within single digits again at 29-21 with 3:05 to go.
Yet, that's the closest Idaho State was able to get for the rest of the game. It didn't help that the Bengals committed 10 turnovers and went just 22-of-55 (40%) from the field.
"Their defense took us out of what we're trying to get done on offense," Idaho State head coach Ryan Looney said. "A large identity for us is scoring the ball in the post, and our leading scorer Brayden Parker was 2-of-8 from the floor with six points."
The lead ballooned in the second half to as much as 20 points at 54-34 on a pullup jumper from Aanen Moody with 12:03 left.
The Bengals did make one last gasp, though.
Junior guard AJ Burgin kickstarted an 11-0 run on a second-chance 3-pointer less than a minute later. They cut the once seemingly insurmountable lead all the way down to nine at 54-45 on back-to-back treys from Tomley with 9:25 remaining.
Tomley finished the year with 85 made 3s, breaking Tim Erickson's (82) 23-year-old record.
He nearly hit No. 86, which would have brought Idaho State to within six at 54-48 a few seconds later, but it just rimmed out. And after Laolu Oke’s layin made it 56-45 with 6:46 remaining, Idaho State never got back within single digits again.
"I'm proud of the guys," Arington said. "We usually find ourselves down and we always come back. When shots aren't falling, there's not a lot you can do. You can just use our energy on defense and try to get momentum like that. We made a couple of those plays to get back in the game. Sadly, we didn't make enough. I'm just proud of the fight."
The loss also ends the prolific Idaho State career of Parker. The Preston native finishes top-10 all-time in blocks (third), blocks per game (eighth), rebounds (ninth), field goals made (ninth) and scoring (10th).
"He's been fantastic," Looney said. "He's not only been a great representative of not just our program, but ISU as well. He's accomplished so many things during his time on campus. He'll have three degrees. He got married. He bought a house. He's got a baby. So many other things than just basketball."
But outside of Parker, Idaho State can return everyone else next season. This includes Arington, who earned multiple All-Big Sky Conference honors this season. He made the Honorable Mention team and was an All-Defensive selection, as well.
However, in the era of NIL (name, image and likeness) and the transfer portal, that isn't a guarantee.
"I feel good about it," Looney said about next season. "But at the end of day, any of us coaches would be lying if we told you exactly what the future looks like. Times have changed. It's different. I love our guys and I want them back. And I think they've gotten better here late in the season. But the truth is, I don't really know."