MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's basketball team couldn't come back from an early double-digit deficit in the first half as Montana earned an 80-57 decision on Saturday afternoon at ICCU Arena.
"A tough one on Senior Day," Head Coach
Alex Pribble said. "The strength of this team that we have talked about many times has been the culture that we are building, the resilience and the character of the young men in the locker room. Late in this year, it feels like we have run out of gas a bit. We are digging ourselves an early hole and we struggle to respond to the adversity that we have created for ourselves. It's a young group and there are a lot of lessons to learn but our goal was to be playing with a lot of energy and confidence at this time of year and these two games have been hard for us."
Montana found a rhythm from the jump, draining six three-pointers to help take a 26-13 lead with 10 minutes left to play in the opening half. The Vandals held the Grizzlies scoreless for the final 2:30 of the half yet they walked into the locker room with a 12-point deficit.
Montana grabbed a 21-point lead at the 18:05 mark before the Vandals started to chip away. The Vandals got back within 14 before Montana embarked on a 13-3 run that would seal Idaho's fate.
The Griz prevailed on the back of a strong first-half shooting effort, going 56 percent (14-25) from the field and 70 percent (7-10) from deep. Montana led for the majority of the game thanks in part to their transition offense that tacked on 19 points, compared to only five for the Vandals.
Idaho couldn't get their shots to fall, shooting 37.5 percent (21-56) from the field while Montana posted 52.9 percent (27-51) from the floor.
Top Performers
- EJ Neal led the squad with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and two assists. The scoring effort was the sixth time Neal recorded double figures.
- Quinn Denker recorded 13 points alongside two assists and two steals.
- Julius Mims led the team on the glass with seven rebounds.
Noteworthy
- Idaho's bench contributed 34 points. This is the seventh time the Vandal's second unit has scored 30 or more points in a game.
- Tyler Linhardt returned to the lineup after missing the previous nine games. He added six points on 3-of-6 shooting in 14 minutes of action.
- The Vandals forced the Griz to go 25 percent from behind the arc in the second half, compared to a 70 percent posted in the first half.
- Idaho forced Montana into 13 turnovers, scoring 15 points off those possessions.
- Following the loss, the Vandals locked in a matchup against Sacramento State to open the Big Sky Tournament in the first round. The teams will face off on Saturday, Mar 9 at 4:30 p.m. PST in Boise, ID.
Up Next
Idaho will round out regular season play with a trip to face Portland State on Monday, Mar 4 at 7 p.m. PST
POSTGAME WITH COACH PRIBBLE
