Before the Bengals’ loss to Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon, I asked head coach Seton Sobolewski how important it was not to drop to a 1-3 conference record.

    His response? Not as important as I seemed to be making it out to be. After all, we’re four games into the Big Sky schedule, Idaho State has 16 games remaining I overanalyze things.

    So the 62-55 loss to the Bears isn’t the end of the world. Honestly, it isn’t even all that worrisome.

    Now I don’t think Sobolewski and his team were thrilled following the defeat. That’s not at all what I’m saying. But what I saw on the floor, particularly toward the end of the first half where the Bengals went on that incredible 22-5 run after looking latent to start things off, tells me how close Idaho State is to bouncing back.

    Now things might look bleak. With the loss, Northern Colorado leapfrogs Idaho State in the Big Sky standings, putting the Bengals in ninth place and out of the top seven needed to make the conference tournament. They’ve lost three in a row, making the league-opening win where the Bengals looked so darned good at Portland State a distant memory.

    Against the Vikings, Idaho State shot 53.8 percent from the field. Since then, the Bengals have strained to sink shots in loses to Eastern Washington (.365), North Dakota (.340) and Northern Colorado (.333). On paper, their shooting is in decline.

    But it’s not like Idaho State is getting outworked around the perimeter or in the key. Sobolewski’s motion offense creates scoring lanes by passing around the arc and drawing defenders away. At home against North Dakota and Northern Colorado, I’ve seen this worked with relentless persistence. Rarely do the Bengals force bad shots, and I’ve seen just about everyone take a defender in isolation, drive to the bucket and finish hard and beautifully.

    The shots aren’t falling. But they’re there. That’s why I think this shooting slump is going to stop. And once it does, the Bengals will be on the rise.

    Kind of an obvious conclusion, isn’t it? Look, the Bengals are playing excellent defense. Their paint is tough to penetrate. Players race to the ball. Even if they aren’t piling up steals on the stat sheet, they’re creating turnovers by crowding dribblers and flying around. It’s tough to sustain that pace through 40 minutes. But the Bengals are doing it.

    And the heart. My goodness, the heart. I know it’s a sports cliché that will make many of you cringe so hard your face will be forever stuck in that pained expression, but the heart is there.

    Against Northern Colorado, I saw senior guard Sheryl Bitter get beat. I’m not sure what the exact situation was, but before I knew it Bitter was tearing down the court to make up for it to make a play on the other end. It’s a reflection of the entire team and how they battle.

    Regardless of sport, to make a winning team, I believe you need three basic things. It takes a combination of offense, defense and spirit to have success. The Bengals have two of those qualities pretty much down to pat. The third is offense. It might not yet be nailed down yet, but the foundation there. They’ve got the tools needed. The parts are available. All that’s left is the assembly.

    And with Sobolewski running the show, I think it’s just a matter of time before the machine starts running.