PROVO, Utah – In front of 16,456 strong, the Idaho men's basketball team couldn't carry over its strong first half as BYU pulled out a 95-71 victory on Saturday afternoon in the Marriott Center.
"Everything for us at this point in the season is about the process of getting better," Idaho Head Coach
Alex Pribble said. "These are all opportunities to learn what are strengths are and what are weaknesses are, and how we can get better. We are capable - there is a lot of potential in that locker room. We can play with teams like this but we have to do it for 40 minutes. Truthfully, the only part of the game that I was disappointed with was the last three minutes. We stopped playing Idaho Basketball and that's when they opened it up in a major way."
The Vandals (1-3) held an advantage for almost 12 minutes in the first half, going back-and-forth with BYU (4-0) in the opening 20 minutes before heading into the locker room down 41-38. It was a strong shooting effort by Idaho in the first 20 minutes to help hang around with the Big 12 juggernaut, as the Vandals shot 50 percent (14-28) from the field and 70 percent (7-10) from three.
Idaho traded baskets with BYU for the first two minutes of the second period, cutting its deficit to 46-45 before the Cougars capitalized at the free throw line and took advantage of 11 second-half turnovers by Idaho to build separation. UI wasn't able to keep up with BYU's offensive output as the Cougars used a 15-5 run midway through the second and an 11-2 spurt to close play.
Notables
- Idaho's 57 percent clip from three marked the best 3-point percentage since Feb. 17, 2022, versus Montana (60.0%).
- Idaho made 12 or more threes for the second time this season.
- For the second time this season, Tyler Mrus led the Vandals in scoring, tying his career high with 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
- Julius Mims contributed 14 points and added a team-high six rebounds.
- A trio of underclassmen guards pitched in seven points each to help lead the offensive creation, as Kristian Gonzalez, Miles Klapper and Kolton Mitchell all made an impact.
- At least 10 players saw the floor for Idaho for the fourth time this season.
- The Vandals scored 25 points off the bench, marking the third time this season Idaho's second unit has scored 20 or more.
Up Next
Idaho returns home for a Tuesday night matchup against Evergreen State on Nov. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside ICCU Arena.
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