MOSCOW, Idaho - Idaho men's basketball was unable to hold off a late Weber State surge as the Vandals fell to the Wildcats, 70-69 on Thursday night at the ICCU Arena. 

Idaho led by seven (69-62) with 1:24 remaining before Weber State forced four late turnovers and scored the final eight points to complete the comeback.   

Julius Mims led four Vandals in double-figure scoring. Mims had 17 points on 10-of-12 shooting while adding eight rebounds and two blocks. Quinn Denker posted 13 points while Kyson Rose and Trevon Blassingame each added 10.

Fans were in store for a back-and-forth battle right from the jump as neither team held more than a two-possession lead over the first 20 minutes of action. Rose jumpstarted play on the very first possession with a triple from the wing to get the Vandal offensive success started in the early going. 

An early five-point deficit transpired later in the period for Idaho before Terren Frank answered with a three and Mims added a dunk on the next possession to make it 16-16 with 10:30 to go in the first half. Four lead changes later, Idaho scored on a layup from Blassingame and three by Kristian Gonzalez to make it a four-point Vandal lead. Weber would retake the advantage once more before the Vandals would secure it for the remainder of the half, 30-28. 

Idaho shot 12-of-22 from the field and 4-of-9 from three in the first half. Denker led the opening half scoring seven points. 

Similar to the first half, both teams were unable to find breathing room as the game was deadlocked at 43-43 with over 11 minutes to go. Mims got hot over the next five minutes of action scoring 10 of Idaho's next 12 points to help give the Vandals a 55-51 lead with 6:03 left on the clock. Blassingame made a three on the next offensive possession while Mims added a dunk and a make from the foul line to give UI their largest lead of the game, 61-53. 

Idaho traded baskets for the next three minutes of action to hold on to a three-possession advantage at the 1:24 mark before the Wildcats took advantage of the Vandals' miscues and earned the victory. 

Despite the loss, Idaho shot 56.3 percent (27-48) from the field, outrebounded Weber 28-22 and dominated in the paint with 34 points.

The entirety of the game saw 15 lead changes and eight ties as the Vandals carried a lead for over 31 minutes of action. 

Up Next
The Vandals will face Idaho State for the second time around on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. PST inside the ICCU Arena. 

POSTGAME WITH ALEX PRIBBLE