SEATTLE – Idaho men's basketball got back on track in a roller coaster finish on Black Friday, defeating UC San Diego 73-70 in overtime at the Redhawk Center.
Trailing 69-68 with 29 seconds to play in the extra period, Idaho needed a stop to gain another chance on the other end and they got it from redshirt junior
Terren Frank. He forced his third steal of the game that led to a go-ahead layup by
Trevon Blassingame to help hand UC San Diego their first loss of the season.
Julius Mims was lights out for the Vandals scoring key buckets and securing timely rebounds all game, as he recorded his first Division l double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Billings native shot 7-14 from the field and added a block and steal each in a complete performance.
The local standouts of Blassingame,
Tyler Linhardt and
D'Angelo Minnis showed out in the biggest moments in their return home, combining to score 27 points in the second half and overtime period to rally Idaho past UC San Diego.
Minnis dropped 15 points and added two steals, while Blassingame scored 12 on a 5 for 6 clip off the bench. Linhardt added six points and four rebounds, including two crucial assists that were converted into made threes from Blassingame and
Quinn Denker in the second half.
Defense was the name of the game to start play, as Idaho held a 4-2 advantage with four minutes past after Denker scored on back-to-back buckets.
From there, neither team was able to break through on the offensive end with Idaho holding a slim 10-7 lead with 9:01 left to play in the first. Mims brought Idaho's lead to three with a layup in the paint and carried that success over the rest of the half. The Billings native scored nine of the Vandals' next 13 points to build separation against the Tritons and go up 23-13 with 3:40 to play.
UC San Diego didn't go away going on a 10-3 run to make it a three-point game (26-23) heading into halftime.
Idaho stood strong on the defensive end, holding the Tritons to shoot 32 percent (8-25) in the first half. The Vandals also took advantage on the glass outrebounding the Tritons 18-10 and turning four offensive rebounds into six second-chance points.
Out of the break, Idaho traded baskets with the Tritons for the first four minutes before UC San Diego used a 10-0 run to go up 40-33 with 13:55 to play. Idaho rallied back to score 13 of the next 19 points to bring it even at 46-46 (8:59) after Blassingame tied it with a three from the wing.
The three-point make from Blassingame started a flurry of baskets from behind the arc, as Idaho sank three of its next four shots from three to hold a 57-51 advantage with 6:13 to go.
After shooting 0-10 from three in the first half, Idaho settled in out of the break knocking down 6 threes on a 38 percent clip in the second half.
Idaho grew its lead to eight (62-54) but a 10-2 Triton run brought the game even at 64 all. The Vandals couldn't finish the job at the free throw line as Bryce Pope hit a game-tying bucket to send the game to overtime.
The Vandals capitalized on 3-of-4 shots from the foul line in the extra period and made timely stops to move to 3-3 on the season and earn head coach
Alex Pribble his first Division l win at Idaho.
Up Next
The Vandals return home next week to start their second three-game home stretch of the season, beginning with Denver on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. inside the ICCU Arena.
Postgame with Idaho Head Coach Alex Pribble
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