MISSOULA, Mont. -- The Idaho men's basketball team fell to Montana on the road, 67-56 on Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena. After trailing by 16 points late in the first half, Idaho crawled back to get within six points before the Grizzlies eventually pulled out the victory.
 
The Vandals were led by a game-high 25 points from forward Isaac Jones. The junior out of Spanaway, Wash., went 9-of-14 from the field, pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and blocked two shots. He now has recorded 20 or more points in six games and moves his scoring average up to 18.4 points per game.
 
Idaho shot 34.8 percent (16-of-46) from the field, including 30 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range. The Grizzlies were stout on the defensive end, forcing the Vandals into 11 turnovers and rejecting nine Idaho shots.
 
Nigel Burris and Divant'e Moffitt each pitched in nine points in the effort. 
 
Idaho was unable to provide any sort of rhythm offensively in the first 20 minutes of action as the Grizzlies held the Vandals to 20 first-half points and 21.7 percent (5-of-23) shooting from the field.
 
Jones scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, helping Idaho rebound from first-half shooting struggles to hit 47.8 percent of their shots in the second. Idaho made it a six-point game with 1:16 left to go, but a Josh Vazquez three halted Idaho's comeback as Montana earned the 67-56 win.
 
For the Grizzlies, Brandon Whitney led the team with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. 
 
UP NEXT
The Vandals return to Moscow to begin a two-game homestand, hosting Sacramento State (Thursday, Jan. 5) and Portland State (Saturday, Jan. 7) next week. 

POSTGAME WITH ZAC CLAUS

 
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