MOSCOW, Idaho – Midway through the first half, with the game tied 14-14,
Kristian Gonzalez scored on four consecutive possessions, a 10-0 Idaho run, giving the Vandals a 24-14 lead over UC Riverside. The Vandals never looked back and cruised to an 80-68 men's basketball win over the Highlanders, Saturday afternoon at the ICCU Arena.
The run was 10 of Gonzalez' career-high 25 points, one of three Vandals in double-digits. Idaho shot 28-59 (47.5%) from the field, and edged Riverside 33-32 in the rebounding margin. The front court came up big with a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 17-7 advantage in second chance points.
The game was close early with both teams struggling to get into an offensive rhythm. The Vandals led 7-3, but the Highlanders tied the game up at 9-9 and again at 14 with 9:56 to play in the first.
Gonzalez hit a putback layup to give the Vandals a 16-14 lead and then hit a three-pointer off of a turnover to extend the lead to 19-14.
Isaiah Brickner picked up an assist on the third shot, a three-pointer, before Gonzalez drove to the rim for his fourth consecutive shot, giving Idaho a 24-14 lead with 7:47 to play in the first half.
The Vandals continued to add to the lead, building the advantage to 39-27 at the half and built the lead to as much as 22 (72-50) before the Highlanders closed the game on an 13-2 run to cut the lead to 12 at the final buzzer.
"It is about consistency with us this time of the year, we've shown sparks playing well offensively and sparks playing well defensively, but I thought the guys put it all together for 37 minutes tonight," head coach
Alex Pribble said. "They've worked hard and remained bought in to the process, so it is good to get a win against a good, well-coached UC Riverside team."
Kolton Mitchell scored a season-high 16 points on 5-10 shooting and added five assists in the win.
Tyler Mrus scored 13 points in the game.
Kyson Rose tallied a team-high seven rebounds and added five assists.
The Vandals had 18 assists on 28 made shots and turned the ball over just eight times.
Idaho (3-5) is next on the road at UMKC on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
