BOISE, Idaho– The Idaho men's basketball team closed the 2024-25 season with a defeat in the Big Sky Conference semifinal Tuesday night, 55-78. Jack Payne led all Idaho players with 18 points, while Julius Mims grabbed 7 rebounds. 

Montana set the tone early with a 20-4 run in the opening half. Idaho suffered from a cold night from beyond the arc, shooting 5-26 (19.2%) from three. The Griz carried a hot shooting night into the second half, converting 43.8% from three.

Payne, a regular season all-conference honorable mention, averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds over Idaho's two games in Boise. 

The game also included the final college appearances for Mims, Kyson Rose, and Jack Hatten. Mims leaves Idaho after a two-season Vandal career that included 61 starts in 62 appearances, 64.4% shooting from the field, and an average of 9.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Rose played in 52 games as a Vandal, shooting 47.9% and scoring 6.1 points per appearance. Hatten was a three-year member of the Black and Gold, playing in 19 games.

Tuesday's Big Sky semifinal appearance was the Vandals' first since the 2017 tournament. In his second year at the helm, head coach Alex Pribble led Idaho to a 14-win season, three more than last year and the most since the 2017-18 season. Additionally, the 2024-25 squad rewrote the school record books in a multitude of ways. Most notably, the Vandals shattered the old record (277) of made three-pointers in a season, banking 308 by the conclusion Tuesday's game. 

With the loss, the 2024-25 season has come to an end. The Vandal coaching staff extends their gratitude to the passionate Idaho fanbase, who packed the ICCU Arena every game day and made it an incredible place to be.