Van De Griend, Bengals too much for undersized Justice Lions

POCATELLO — At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Jaydon Cameron was Justice University’s primary interior defender against Idaho State’s 6-foot-8, 255-pound Caleb Van De Griend. And that matchup worked out in favor of the Bengals.

Van De Griend scored 19 of his game-high 29 in the second half, helping the Bengals (3-3, 0-0) turn a 40-32 halftime advantage into a 89-51 victory over the Lions (0-2) in a Friday matinee at ISU’s Reed Gym.

The Bengals got off to a sluggish start and, hampered by some early foul trouble for Connor Hollenbeck and Martin Kheil, were unable to take advantage of the Justice defense early. ISU’s slow start along with some hot Lions 3-point shooting led to an early lead for the small Chandler, Ariz.-based Christian college squad.

In just 10 first-half minutes off the bench, Van De Griend, ISU’s leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, made an immediate impact upon entry — dropping 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, to go with three rebounds before picking up a second personal foul of his own.

Behind the sixth-man scoring machine, the Bengals overcame the hot Justice start to snatch a slim lead at the break.

Starting big man Evan Otten made his pressence felt at the start of the second half, blocking three shots and forcing Justice to stick with their perimeter shooting, which cooled off during the halftime recess. And when Otten left the game, he was replaced by Van De Griend, who was right back at it on the offensive side.

Van De Griend was 7-of-8 from the field — all on the inside — and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the second half, to finish with an incredibly efficient 12-of-14, 5-of-6 shooting afternoon. His 10 rebounds were also a game-high, and gave Van De Griend his second double-double of the season.

Hoollenbeck (11) and Lachlan Brewer (13) joined Van De Griend as the only Bengals to finish in double-figures.

JD Walker paced the Lions with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

ISU will be back on the court Wednesday, when they face Sam Houston as part of the Holiday Hoops Classic at Boise State University. The Bengals’ next home game will be Dec. 6, against the University of Denver.