MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team defeated Northern Arizona, 78-69, on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day.
Mikey Dixon dropped a team-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting to help lead the Vandals (9-21, 6-14 BSC) past the Lumberjacks (9-22, 5-15 BSC).
"To defend the way we did, I don't recall numbers like 39 (percent) and 22 (percent from three) in terms of their field goal percentage," Head Coach
Zac Claus said. "That was huge for us. Our guys accepted the challenge. It was so nice to take care of the ball and take good shots. You combine those two things and then convert from the free-throw line late which translates into a good win."
Dixon recorded his 10th game of 20-plus points on the season while the scoring effort surpassed 1,500 total points for his career at the Division l level.
"It's been great here," Senior guard
Mikey Dixon said. "We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season but I feel like as a team we stuck with it. Every day I tried to be a better leader and just work hard and we wanted to see it all the way through. We pushed every day to get better. I think we earned the win tonight."
Trevante Anderson and
Rashad Smith recorded double figures in the win, as Anderson tallied 16 points and Smith added 10 points. Anderson delivered an all-around effort, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Idaho shot 46.3 from the field while the Vandal defense held Northern Arizona to 38.5 percent from the floor - the lowest shooting percentage Idaho has held an opponent since Cal Poly (.364) on November 24 of last year.
The Vandals took care of the ball after struggling to do so last time out against Portland State on Thursday, as they only surrendered seven turnovers on the afternoon.
Northern Arizona led by as many as seven points in the opening 20 minutes before Idaho was able to eventually tie the score at 18-18 with 9:50 left to play in the first period. Both teams traded baskets the remainder of the half, as Idaho took a 34-33 lead at halftime after Dixon drained a triple.
The first 10 minutes of the second period saw a tightly contested affair as neither team was able to gain more than a two-possession lead. Idaho found some breathing room at the 14:01 mark, going on a 9-2 run to increase their lead to nine points (53-44). The Vandals kept their advantage the rest of the way with the help of an 8 for 8 effort from the free-throw line in the final 37 seconds of the game to capture a 78-69 victory.
The Vandals have now won 13 out of the last 14 games on Senior Day.
The game was the final regular-season contest for Dixon and
JeMeil King.
"We thank them both for taking a chance on us and for enabling us to coach them hard in their final year of college basketball," Claus said. "They have been a treat to be around. Their maturity has been welcoming and they are awesome guys as teammates."
The Vandals clinched the nine seed in next week's Big Sky Tournament, as they will face off against Sacramento State on Wednesday, Mar. 9 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time from Boise, Idaho.
