FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Idaho men's basketball team trailed by nine points in the second half and stormed back to take the lead late, but Northern Arizona made shots from the foul line to help earn a 74-72 victory on Monday night at the Walkup Skydome.
"I just feel awful for our guys because they competed their tails off and they put themselves in position to have success and to finish off the game," Head Coach
Zac Claus said. "We just needed one more possession to go our way down the stretch. I love our resolve, I love the way the guys continue to collectively stay together."
Junior guard
Trevante Anderson found his groove again after scoring a team-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. The offensive output by Anderson was the fourth game of 20 or more points by the Tacoma, Wash. native this season. He also grabbed nine rebounds and two steals on the night.
Grand Canyon transfers
Mikey Dixon and
Rashad Smith scored in double figures to help Idaho on the offensive end. Dixon added 17 points while Smith made four shots from behind the arc to end with 12 points and six rebounds.
JeMeil King put up another impressive performance off the bench, scoring 10 points, three assists and three blocks. It was King's third game in the last four where he scored in double figures.
Right from the opening tip, fans we're in for a Big Sky battle that did not disappoint. Early on it looked as if NAU was gonna break the game open when leading 19-11, but the Vandals were able to find a groove from 3-point range, knocking down five shots from behind the arc to take the lead, 28-25 with 5:31 remaining in the first half. The effort was credited to a stretch where Smith knocked down three consecutive baskets from three to help bring the Vandals back ahead.
The remainder of the half saw neither team pull ahead by more than one possession, as the Vandals went into halftime trailing, 33-35.
Six lead changes and four ties made for an exciting first 20 minutes. The Vandals shot 42 percent from the field and made six threes to help keep the game within one possession.
The Lumberjacks led by no more than two possessions for a large part of the second half before NAU's leading scorer Jalen Cone knocked down a three to push the score to 54-45 with 10:02 remaining. NAU kept their nine point advantage till under eight minutes to play when the Vandals went on a 12-2 run to retake the lead, 62-61.
"They did it defensively," said Claus. "They had some really good moments. We needed consecutive stops and our guys put us in a good position to do so."
NAU found themselves up, 66-63 before a foul behind the three point line by a Lumberjack defender and a technical foul by the Northern Arizona coaching staff gave Dixon five shots at the free throw line. Dixon sank all five shots to give Idaho a 68-66 lead.
NAU answered with a three from Cone, who would score the final eight points for the Lumberjacks to help close out Idaho, 74-72.
Idaho struggled shooting in the second half, going 31 percent from the field and 15 percent from three.
As a team, the Vandals took care of the ball only surrendering six turnovers on the night.
Next Up: Idaho will look forward to a trip back to the Palouse, as the team is scheduled to host two home games against Northern Colorado on Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. and Sacramento State on Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. The Vandals will play three games in five days with a rescheduled game at Portland State set to happen on Jan. 24.
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