FINAL SCOREĀ
Idaho Vandals - 78
Montana State Bobcats - 74
SEASON RECORDS
Idaho - 19-14, 9-9 Big Sky
Montana State - 18-14, 12-6 Big Sky
VANDAL LEADERS
PTS - Biko Johnson (19)
AST - Biko Johnson (4)
REB - Isaiah Brickner (7)
BLK - Trevon Blassingame (2)
STL - Trevon Blassingame (1)
NOTABLES
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Tonight's win punches Idaho's ticket to the Big Sky Conference Semifinals for the second straight season.
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54 of UI's 78 points came inside the paint, far and away a season high. The previous top mark was three separate outings of 44, accomplished most recently vs. Montana State in Bozeman.
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The Black and Gold shot a combined 31-55 (56.4%) from the field, the second-highest output of the season to only the win over Idaho State (2/14/26), where 59.4% of attempts were true.
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Nine different Vandals put up points in Sunday's action.
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In 15 minutes of action, Trevon Blassingame was a perfect 3-3 from the floor, marking the fourth contest this season where he put up two or more attempts without a miss.Ā
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Biko Johnson led the Vandals with 19, his highest-scoring effort since putting up 25 in a win at Sacramento State.
BOISE, Idaho - Inside a rowdy black and gold-clad Idaho Central Arena, the Idaho men's basketball team pulled off a 78-74 upset over the second-seeded Montana State Bobcats to punch its ticket to the semifinals of Starch Madness.Ā
HOW IT HAPPENED
Unlike Idaho's first round matchup on Saturday night, points were scored in a flurry over the opening four minutes Sunday, with the Vandals gaining a 10-9 lead by the 16:22 mark. They would not hold onto it for long, as Montana State would rattle off three straight buckets to build a five-point gap. UI's offense's hot start allowed them to answer quickly, posting three scores of its own to regain the lead on a shot clock beating, set piece bucket from Trevon Blassingame just over halfway into the period.
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Blassingame and
Jackson Rasmussen would splash triples on two of the Vandals' next possessions, helping the Black and Gold's advantage grow to as much as four. The Bobcats would slice into the gap, finding a way to tie the contest just over three minutes later. After a series of scores that saw Idaho go back up by three with just under four left in the half, MSU knocked down a triple to even the score once more, before closing the period on a 9-5 run to take a four-point edge into the locker room.Ā
Coming out of the break, both teams went blow for blow for most of the early portion of the frame, trading bucket for bucket and stop for stop to keep Idaho's deficit at or around four for possessions on end.
Tough work from Miles Klapper, Isaiah Brickner, and Rasmussen would knot the score at 61 before back-to-back layups forced a timeout and gave the seventh-seeded Vandals an advantage they would not relinquish. The 'Cats scratched and clawed their way back within two points, but Biko Johnson bled the clock towards the one-minute mark before splashing a dagger triple from the top rope to once again make it a two possession contest.Ā
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Johnson, Brickner, and Klapper would combine for seven clutch free throws in the waning seconds to cement the #7 over #2 Big Sky banger.Ā Ā
UP NEXTĀ
Winning two games in two days has earned UI a well-deserved day of rest. They will return to action Tuesday at 9:30 PM MT/8:30 PM PT for the semifinal matchup with the winner ofĀ Eastern Washington vs. Weber State. The Eagles and Wildcats will tip off at 8:00 PM MT/7:00 PM PT Monday night.
TICKETS
Single session and all-tournament tickets for Starch Madness are on sale now! Secure your tickets to cheer on the Vandals in Boise at starchmadness.com.Ā
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govandals.com.Ā
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