BOZEMAN, Mont. – A full-team effort led the Idaho men's basketball team to an 81-75 road win over Montana State on Saturday night at Worthington Arena.
It was an all-around scoring display for the Idaho offense, as five Vandals scored in double figures.
Julius Mims showed out in front of his home state, posting his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. The Billings native shot 7-of-11 from the field and added two blocks and two steals on the defensive end.
The backcourt duo of
D'Angelo Minnis and
Quinn Denker combined to total 25 points and six assists. Minnis scored in double figures for the 11th time this season with 14 points while Denker added his 15th game of 10 or more points with 11.
Kyson Rose was another key contributor for the Vandals, posting 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Terren Frank continued to be a prominent presence for Idaho's second unit, adding 12 points and four rebounds.
The first 20 minutes of action saw neither team lead by more than two possessions. The Bobcats built an early 11-6 advantage before the Vandals scored seven of the next nine points to even the score at 13-13 after a corner three from
EJ Neal at the 10:09 mark.
A 6-0 run later in the period saw Idaho find their largest lead of the half (25-20) before MSU answered with an 8-0 spurt to go up 28-25. Mims added a layup on the other end and Rose made back-to-back shots to give Idaho the one-point edge (31-30) at the half.
Trevon Blassingame scored four of his eight points in the opening two offensive possessions for Idaho to start the second half. Later in the period, the Vandals pulled out to a three-possession lead after a 7-0 run to make it 48-41 with 14:48 to play. Montana State cut it to one (57-58) but Idaho used a pivotal 13-3 spurt to go up 71-60 with 2:07 to play. The Bobcats cut it to six but that's the closest they would come as Idaho snapped its eight-game losing streak.
For the second straight game, the Vandals found success shooting the basketball. Idaho converted on 54.4 percent of their shots from the floor, including a 60 percent (18-30) clip in the second half. Idaho made Montana State pay on the offensive glass and on 12 committed turnovers, as the Vandals scored 16 second chance points and 17 points off turnovers.
The win was Idaho's first at Montana State since February 5, 2015.
Up Next
The Vandals wrap up a stretch of three games in five days, when the team travels to face Sacramento State for the second time around on Monday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. PST.
POSTGAME WITH COACH PRIBBLE
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