MOSCOW — The Vandals weathered several late runs from Montana State in Big Sky men’s basketball action to beat the Bobcats 69-64 on Thursday at the ICCU Arena in Moscow.
The win marked Idaho coach Alex Pribble’s 100th as a college coach.
“Montana State has been the cream of the crop in this league, going to the NCAA Tournament the last three years in a row, so our guys knew they had to play our best basketball,” Pribble said postgame. “These guys dialed it in. Finished nonconference against Pacific on a great note and kinda carried that over into this game.”
Four Vandals scored in double figures for the second straight game as Tyler Mrus and Tyler Linhardt each posted 14 points. Kristian Gonzalez added 13 and Julius Mims scored 11. Mims made his presence known inside, putting up nine rebounds, his second-highest total of the season. Kolton Mitchell dished out six assists for the second straight game.
The Vandals opened the game with a 9-0 run capped by Mims’ two dunks less than a minute apart. The Bobcats responded with a 13-4 run of their own, tying the game at 13 with 13 minutes left in the opening period. The Bobcats went punch-for-punch with Idaho holding the upper hand at the half to lead 29-25.
Idaho jumped out to a nine-point lead in the second half only to see the Bobcats roar back into the game. MSU went on a 9-3 run with 3:38 to go, giving the Bobcats their first lead since early in the first half.
Gonzalez sunk a 3-pointer to put the Vandals up 63-61 with 3:23 to go. The Bobcats did not have an answer and Mims’ fourth dunk of the game and two free throws from Mrus settled the dust and led the Vandals to their second straight conference-opening win.
“This game was really big for belief,” Pribble said. “These guys have to walk on the court expecting to win big games and they did that tonight and I hope they carry that forward.”
Next up, Idaho faces Montana at 2 p.m. Saturday in Moscow.
MONTANA ST. (5-9)
Agbonkpolo 3-12 0-0 8, Walker 1-4 3-10 5, McMahon 6-11 3-4 15, Mullins 3-8 2-2 9, Patterson 4-7 0-0 10, Miller 0-6 2-2 2, Goracke 5-9 3-3 14, Nduka 0-0 0-0 0, Kolly 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 22-57 14-23 64.
IDAHO (6-8)
Mims 4-4 3-4 11, Mrus 3-7 6-6 14, Gonzalez 4-9 2-2 13, Mitchell 2-12 0-0 4, Payne 3-7 1-2 7, Linhardt 4-6 4-8 14, Hardy 1-6 0-0 2, Anderson 0-3 2-4 2, Brickner 1-2 0-0 2, Steele 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 18-26 69.
Halftime — Idaho 30-25. 3-Point Goals — Montana St. 6-27 (Agbonkpolo 2-5, Patterson 2-5, Mullins 1-3, Goracke 1-4, Walker 0-1, McMahon 0-4, Miller 0-5), Idaho 7-20 (Gonzalez 3-5, Linhardt 2-3, Mrus 2-6, Mitchell 0-2, Payne 0-4). Fouled Out — Patterson. Rebounds_Montana St. 34 (Agbonkpolo 9), Idaho 38 (Mims 9). Assists — Montana St. 8 (Mullins 3), Idaho 12 (Mitchell 6). Total Fouls — Montana St. 18, Idaho 17. A — 1,666 (4,200).