MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team used a 14-3 run late in the second half to pull away from North Dakota and secure its third win in a row on Tuesday night at ICCU Arena.
Five Vandals contributed double-figure scoring efforts in the 10-point win, including a team-high 19 points by
Isaac Jones on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 11 for 13 from the foul line. Jones also secured his third double-double this season with 10 rebounds while adding six blocks - the most by an Idaho player since 2012 (6, Djim Bandoumel, 2/9/12).
After shooting 41 percent in the first half, the Vandals shot 50 percent (12-of-24) in the final 20 minutes of action to help pull out the victory. The foul line proved to be the difference for Idaho in the second half, as they went 14 for 20 (70%) from the charity strip compared to 5-of-10 for North Dakota.
Divant'e Moffitt had 14 points and
Nigel Burris followed with 13.
Yusef Salih added his fourth double-digit scoring effort with 12 while
Rashad Smith was able to get in a rhythm from outside, shooting 3-5 from three and recording 11 points.
Idaho forced North Dakota into 14 turnovers that the Vandals capitalized into 15 points.
Idaho trailed 34-33 at halftime after Salih sank a buzzer-beater three to send the Vandals into the locker room only down one. Out of the break, the Fighting Hawks took a 38-33 advantage with under 19 minutes left to go in the game. The Vandals chipped away basket by basket before eventually finding themselves up six (57-51) with 9:31 in the second half.
North Dakota pulled within one (57-56), but ultimately a key 14-3 run was what the Vandals needed to gain some breathing room and finish the job at the foul line to get the victory.
The Vandals will look to continue its winning streak on Sunday when UC Riverside comes to town. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. at ICCU Arena.
POSTGAME WITH HEAD COACH ZAC CLAUS
