FINAL SCORE
Idaho Vandals - 83
Washington State Cougars - 81

SEASON RECORDS
Idaho - 1-0
Washington State - 0-1

VANDAL LEADERS
PTS - Kristian Gonzalez (18)
AST- Kolton Mitchell (4)
REB- Jack Payne (7)
BLK- Jack Payne (2)
STL- Kolton Mitchell (2)

NOTABLES

• Second time in three years Idaho has opened its season at Washington State
• Four of the starting five for the Vandals hail from the Gem State, most since at least 1980
  • Kolton Mitchell (CDA), Jack Payne (Boise), Jackson Rasmussen (Meridian), Brody Rowbury (Meridian)
• Making their regular season debuts in a Vandal uniform were Brody Rowbury, Biko Johnson, Jackson Rasmussen, and Seth Joba
• With 11 threes in tonight's game, Idaho stretched its streak of five or more made triples in a game to 47 contests, the 10th-longest streak in the nation.
• Jackson Rasmussen's 12 points are the most by a Vandal true freshman since Nigel Burris scored 22 (NAU, 3/4/23)
• Idaho beat Washington State for the first time since 2017 and in Pullman for the first time since 2014
• Kristian Gonzalez's 18 points are the most by a Vandal in a season opener against a DI opponent since 2021
• Jack Payne led Idaho in rebounds for the seventh time in his Vandal career
• Monday marks the 14th time Idaho has shot above 50% from the field in the Pribble era
• Heading into Monday's contest, Washington State was ranked 155th in the KenPom ratings, the highest ranked team Idaho has beat since South Dakota State in December 2021.

PULLMAN, Wash. - From the opening tip to the final horn, Idaho led in its season opener at Washington State, by fending off a late charge to win 83-81 behind an 18-point night from Kristian Gonzalez.

HEAR FROM COACH
"Big moment for our program, big day, big moment for the University of Idaho," head coach Alex Pribble said postgame. "We have a word on the board every single day when we walk in the locker room, on the top right-hand corner, it says "together" every day. That's what this program is built on, competing together. And I thought we did a really good job of that. Different guys stepped up and through the highs and lows of the game, we stayed together, we stayed connected, we continued to battle, and I'm just extremely proud of them."



HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Vandals opened on a 5-0 run, fueled by points from newcomers Jackson Rasmussen and Biko Johnson. 

Rasmussen would be a major contributor in the opening period, going 2-4 from the field, including making his only three-point attempt of the first half, after laying in the opening bucket. The freshman led the Vandals in minutes at the halfway point, appearing in 18 of the opening 20. 



Fellow Meridian native Brody Rowbury also made first-half noise, having a perfect 20 minutes from the field, posting seven points and five boards. 



Rasmussen and Rowbury would combine with Johnson and Gonzalez to score 29 of Idaho's 43 first-half points, with Jack Payne putting up eight of his own as the Vandals led by nine at the break following a Payne triple with eight seconds remaining.



Idaho would have a fruitful start to the second, scoring 26 in the first ten and a half minutes and stretching their lead to a game-high 16 points after a Seth Joba layup at the 9:24 mark. The Cougs would not go down without a fight, however, as Wazzu would go on to outscore UI 24-13 over the next 7:55, cutting Idaho's advantage to just six, the lowest it had been since the 12:54 mark in the first. 

No field goals would be converted in the final 41 seconds. WSU made two late free throws to slice the lead to just two, but the Vandals held on in the dying seconds after Washington State missed three triples in the final 22 seconds. 



UI would not make a shot for the final four minutes, with their final bucket coming from Rowbury with exactly 4:00 on the clock. 

The Vandals outshot WSU in all categories, making 50% of their tries from the field, 39% from three-point land, and 74% from the charity stripe.

UP NEXT
Idaho opens its 2025-26 home slate by hosting Whitman on Friday, November 7, at ICCU Arena. Tip is set for 6 p.m., with the game being streamed on ESPN+, the Vandal Radio Network, and Varsity Network.

TICKETS
Idaho Athletics announced that all student tickets for football, basketball, volleyball, and soccer home events are free of charge. To claim your tickets, visit govandals.com/tickets 

FOLLOW THE VANDALS
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