Idaho Wins After Losing Its Big Lead

The Idaho Vandals enjoyed a double-digit lead most of the game Saturday and appeared on the verge of blowing out Northern Arizona.

But the Vandals ended up needing all of a 13-point lead with 5 minutes remaining and they thwarted a Lumberjacks rally for a 66-64 victory in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game at Moscow.

Idaho took a 64-51 lead on a 3-pointer from Shawn Dirden with just over 5 minutes remaining before 2,916 fans at the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals then went scoreless until Dirden and Nate Gardner made single free throws in the final 30 seconds.

In between, the Lumberjacks used two 3-pointers by Jermone Riley and one from Michael McNair to narrow the Vandals’ lead to 64-62 with 1:21 remaining.

NAU blew an opportunity to tie the score at 64 with less than a minute to go when Riley missed a layup. Dirden was fouled in the ensuing scramble for the rebound.

Dirden made the front end of a one-and-one situation, but his second shot dipped in and popped out.

NAU rebounded the ball and fed quickly to Riley, who missed a 3-point attempt from the corner. The Lumberjacks fouled Gardner, who made the front end of a bonus to extend UI’s lead to 66-62 with 12 seconds left.

Riley scored an uncontested layup for the final margin.

Idaho 66, NAU 64

Northern Arizona (64) - Scott Taylor 4-9 2-2 10, Mike McNair 5-9 2-2 15, Brent Bowden 3-10 0-0 6, Tootie Green 1-8 0-0 2, Charles Thomas 4-7 0-1 9, Ryan Abbott 0-2 0-0 0, Casey Frank 4-7 1-2 9, Jermone Riley 5-14 0-0 13. Totals - 26-66 5-7 64

Idaho (66) - Eddie Turner 7-11 1-1 15, Jason Jackman 6-13 2-2 14, Nate Gardner 1-1 1-2 3, Reggie Rose 4-11 0-0 9, Shawn Dirden 2-5 3-4 9, Kris Baumann 1-3 0-0 3, James Jones 3-8 1-1 7, Harry Harrison 1-5 4-4 6. Totals - 25-57 12-14 66

Halftime score - Idaho 37, Northern Arizona 25. 3-point goals - Northern Arizona 7-23 (McNair 3-6, Green 0-3, Thomas 1-4, Abbott 0-2, Riley 3-8), Idaho 4-12 (Rose 1-5, Dirden 2-3, Baumann 1-3, Jones 0-1). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Northern Arizona 39 (Taylor 7), Idaho 37 (Harrison 8). Assists - Northern Arizona 14 (Thomas 5), Idaho 7 (Baumann 3). Total fouls - Northern Arizona 14, Idaho 14. Technicals - none. A-2,916.

Boise State 69, Montana St 61

Junior guard Joe Wyatt scored 22 points, making 6 of 6 shots from 3-point range, to lead the Broncos past the Bobcats and into first place.

Montana State (12-6) - Lollis 6-8 0-4 12, Harrison 5-6 2-5 12, Leachman 3-9 2-2 8, Hatler 1-5 1-2 4, Sprinkle 3-7 0-0 9, Fay 1-3 0—0 3, Elliott 0-0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Holmsteadt 6-7 0-1 13. Totals 25-45 5-14 61.

Boise State (9-9) - Tolman 1-4 0-0 2, Huleen 8-12 1-1 17, Rodman 4-6 2-3 10, Washington 3-7 5-6 12, Wyatt 7-10 2-2 22, Hagman 0-1 0-0 0, Sherrill 0-1 0-0 0, Flanagan 3-5 0-0 6, Tharp 0-1 0-0 0, Van Kirk 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-47 10-12 69.

Halftime-BSU 36, MSU 26. A-8,662.

Montana 94, Idaho St 75

Shawn Samuleson scored 26 points while leading the Grizzlies to their victory over the Bengals at Pocatello, Idaho.

Montana (13-5) - Bowie 1-6 0-0 3, Belnap 5-7 2-2 17, Covill 1-1 2-3 4, Spoja 3-8 0-0 6, Samuleson 9-14, 8-8 26, Walker 5-5 4-4 16, Dade 4-6 0-1 9, Seidensticker 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 5-6 1-1 11, Dick 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-55 17-19 94

Idaho State (6-10) - Lee 0-3 0-0 0, Harwell 7-13 4-8 18, Green 9-17 4-11 22, Preston 4-5 3-5 13, Brown 4-7 0-1 8, Artis 0-0 0-0 0 , MacAurthur 0-1 00 0, Maxwell 0-2 0-0 0, Tarver 5-11 1-1 14. Totals 29-59 12-26 75.

Halftime-MU 48, ISU 32. A-2,642.

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