MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team battled throughout but the Montana State offense showed off an efficient display of shooting from the field to earn a 92-72 victory on Thursday night at ICCU area.

Mikey Dixon continued to be the focal point for the Idaho offense as the New Castle, Dele. native dropped his third 20-plus point performance of the season with 24 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Not only was Dixon efficient with every shot, but he also had another miraculous night from the foul line, shooting 13-of-13 to boost his average to 87.2 percent on the season. The perfect night from the charity stripe places him second-best among Big Sky players this season.

Montana State established a paint presence early to help earn the victory, scoring a total of 46 points inside on 55.7 percent shooting from the field. Turnovers plagued the Vandals throughout the game with the Bobcat defense forcing 18 takeaways that led to 21 MSU points.

"They are a good team," said head coach Zac Claus. "They are battle-tested and you can't just fixate on one area, they have guys that are mature and that have played together. If you aren't locked in and playing smart, and together then they are going to expose you."

A fast start by the Vandal offense got the first half underway with Idaho making five of their first eight shots to sit tied at 13 all through the first five minutes of action. MSU made an 11-0 run to follow, providing some breathing room for the remainder of the half as the Vandals found themselves down 45-36 with 20 minutes left to play.

Idaho went a perfect 13 for 13 from the line and shot 41.7 percent in the opening half to remain within striking distance.

Out of the break, the Vandals would cut their deficit to seven but timely buckets from the Bobcat offense would help put the game out of reach as MSU earned the victory, 92-72.  

Junior Rashad Smith and freshman Yusef Salih pitched in 11 points each to help the offensive production. Smith knocked down a 5 for 9 clip from the floor and grabbed a game-high seven boards while Salih recorded his fourth game with at least three 3-pointers.

The Vandals fall to 3-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play while Montana State goes to 11-5 and 3-2 Big Sky action.

The Vandals will look to shake off the home loss with a matchup against Eastern Washington in Cheney on Saturday afternoon. The weekend matinee will feature a doubleheader with the Idaho women's basketball team as they get underway at 1 p.m. before the men take the court for a 3:30 p.m. tip.  

"We will be back in the meeting room and back on the practice floor tomorrow," said Claus. "Conference play waits for nobody. We have to bounce right back and be ready to go come Saturday afternoon."

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