UI finds L-town to its liking

With a power outage plaguing the University of Idaho’s campus, the Vandal men’s basketball team hosted Big Sky foe Northern Colorado at the P1FCU Activity Center on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College on Thursday.

Despite the unfamiliar setting, Idaho relied on its familiar stalwarts to push it over the top.

The Vandals were able to earn a dramatic 84-82 win against the for their fourth conference win of the season.

It’s the first time Idaho has played a game in Lewiston since 1927, and they gave the 438 fans who decided to show up for the first game between Division I foes at the Activity Center a memory to last a lifetime.

With 1:53 left in regulation, senior Isaac Jones located fellow Spanaway, Wash., native Divant’e Moffitt at the right elbow to give Idaho a 74-72 lead, its first of the game.

Seconds later, the Bears jumped back in front 75-74 after a Matt Johnson 3.

Daylen Kountz put Northern Colorado in front one final time, 77-76, with 1:04 remaining after a vicious dunk.

As quickly as Kountz gave the Bears the lead, he committed a mistake by fouling Jones in the act of shooting with 44 seconds left. Jones made good on both free throws to put the Vandals up for good 78-77. He finished with 21 points.

“I’m thrilled for our guys,” Idaho coach Zac Claus said. “The resiliency that they have shown over the last couple of days, weeks and months has been impressive.”

Here are some takeaways:

Closing the deal

Idaho (10-17, 4-10) might not have been playing at Idaho Central Credit Union Arena, but the style of the game they played made them feel right at home.

The Vandals have played 11 games that have been decided by five or fewer points and are 6-5 overall.

Idaho trailed by as many as 26-15 with 5:34 left in the first half, thanks to a 10-0 Northern Colorado run that lasted the better part of three minutes. The Vandals responded by going on a 5-0 spurt to cut the gap to 26-20 with 4:40 left in the half.

Idaho got within 31-30 after a Moffitt free throw with 1:12 remaining. Moffitt scored 16 of the Vandals’ 32 first-half points and finished with a game-high 35.

“This win was possible because of how hard he practiced this week,” said Claus, who eclipsed his previous mark for victories in a season. “He raised the level of our group.”

What changed in the second half?

The biggest switch the Vandals made coming out of the locker room was how they guarded Northern Colorado’s shooters. The Bears (10-16, 5-10) finished 7-for-15 from deep in the first half. In the second half, Idaho’s defense limited them to just 2-for-9 (22.2%) from beyond the arc.

“We were too careless with the ball and did not do a good enough job on their shooters,” Claus said. “Those were the biggest points of emphasis during halftime if we were going to have a chance.”

Moffitt took over as a facilitator in the second half despite scoring 19 of his 35 points. Freshman Nigel Burris was the recipient of most of Moffitt’s passes as he finished with 13 second-half points and 18 overall. He was 3-for-4 from distance, including one from the top of the key with 4:43 to go off of a Moffitt feed to bring the Vandals within 69-68.

“He is a really good player,” Claus said. “He’s even better when he takes great shots. There is a reason we keep throwing him out there; he’s a terrific competitor.”

Taking care of the ball

Taking care of the ball is a basic fundamental. In this one, Idaho did it better than Northern Colorado.

The Vandals finished with nine turnovers, their third-lowest total of the year. Their defense also forced 14 takeaways.

“That’s as good an offensive team as you’ll face,” Claus said. “They can hang with anyone in the league. They have three or four guys that can score 30 points a night, so getting turnovers was a must.”

On offense, finding an open teammate is another basic concept, but it isn’t something the Vandals do particularly well. Idaho averages 12 assists per game, sixth in the Big Sky. Idaho finished with 15 assists against the Bears, its season high against Division I opponents.

“Our ball movement really improved from the first half to the second half,” Claus said. “We want to continue to push these guys to be wonderful and unselfish players, and they did a wonderful job of that tonight.”

NORTHERN COLORADO (10-17, 5-10)

Kountz 9-13 6-7 26, Johnson II 2-7 0-0 6, Abercrombie 4-9 2-4 12, Hughes 1-2 3-4 5, Knecht 9-18 2-2 22, Creech 2-3 0-0 5, Wisne 2-3 0-0 4, Reynolds 1-3 0-0 2, Shaw 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 13-17 82.

IDAHO (10-17, 4-10)

Moffitt 12-24 9-9 35, Salih 0-4 0-0 0, Jones 8-11 5-6 21, Burris 6-9 3-3 18, Ford 2-6 0-0 6, R. Smith 1-6 2-3 4, T. Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 19-21 84.

Halftime — Northern Colorado, 36-32. 3-point goals — Northern Colorado 9-24 (Kountz 2-3, Johnson II 2-5, Abercrombie 2-6, Knecht 2-7, Creech 1-1, Reynolds 0-1, Shaw 0-1), Idaho 7-19 (Burris 3-4, Moffitt 2-4, Ford 2-5, T. Smith 0-1, Salih 0-2, R. Smith 0-3). Rebounds — Northern Colorado 33 (Hughes, Knecht 8), Idaho 31 (Jones 8). Assists — Northern Colorado 11 (Johnson II 5), Idaho 15 (Moffitt 6). Total fouls — Northern Colorado 18, Idaho 13. A — 438.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.