MOSCOW, Idaho - The Idaho men's basketball team rode a strong first half to help defeat Cal Poly, 85-70 win on Saturday afternoon in the ICCU Arena. 

D'Angelo Minnis had himself quite the day, leading the team with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3 for 6 from three. Julius Mims electrified the crowd all game, converting on three dunks while tallying 11 points and seven rebounds. Terren Frank also added 11 points on 50 percent shooting. 

Idaho led for over 38 minutes of action, getting out to a quick 18-7 lead in the first eight minutes. The start of play was highlighted by a three-point make each from Tyler Linhardt, Kyson Rose and Minnis. 

Linhardt made an impact as soon as he checked in off the bench, finding the bottom of the net on a three. The triple was one of three shots made for the Seattle native as he posted a career-high 11 points in 14 minutes of action.  

The Vandals continued to let it fly from behind the arc, as EJ Neal and Quinn Denker connected from three to bring the score to 29-16 with under six minutes to go. The duo from the Bay Area combined for 17 points with Denker scoring nine and Neal adding eight points. 

Back-to-back dunks by Julius Mims brought the Vandal fans to their feet and helped carry out the momentum for Idaho in the opening 20 minutes. The Silver and Gold walked into the locker room with a 43-30 lead.
 
Minnis opened the second with a quick three-pointer to start a 9-1 run and increase Idaho's lead to 52-31 just three minutes into the half. 

The Vandals weren't just finding success on the offensive end, as their defense also stepped up holding the Mustangs scoreless for almost four minutes which helped Idaho take their largest lead of the game of 31 points (69-38). 

Frank re-entered the game with 10 minutes left to play and was strong under the basket, scoring eight of his 11 points.

The tale of the last ten minutes was that Idaho refused to let down and the Mustangs couldn't deliver a large enough response to overcome their deficit. With the victory, the Vandals advance to 4-4 on the season. 

Idaho shot 49 percent (26-53) from the field, 41 percent (9-22) from three and 73 percent (24-33) from the foul line. The Vandals converted 15 Mustang turnovers into 22 points. 

Up Next
The Vandals close out their three-game homestand next week with a Tuesday night matchup against Pacific at 6 p.m. inside the ICCU Arena. 

POSTGAME WITH COACH PRIBBLE


--