Misfortune, Miscues Cost Vandals Again Montana State Makes Most Of Both To Rally Past Struggling Idaho, 81-78

At times, Idaho’s men’s basketball team appears jinxed. For example, Harry Harrison hustled mightily to get into position to snag a key offensive rebound, only to have the ball slip from his grasp and go out of bounds.

At times, the Vandals’ woes are self-inflicted, like Kris Baumann’s errant pass stifling a last-minute possession.

Together, the combination of misfortune and miscues keeps adding up to mind-numbing losses.

Thursday night it was Montana State rebounding, literally, from a 10-point second-half deficit and out-performing the Vandals in the clutch for an 81-78 victory before 2,433 at the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho (10-15 overall, 4-9 Big Sky) remains a win or a Northern Arizona loss away from qualifying for the conference tournament.

MSU (18-8, 10-3) preserved its title hopes. The Bobcats can clinch no worse than a tie for the championship by defeating Eastern Washington on Saturday.

Idaho plays Montana, which is knotted with MSU at 10-3, on Saturday in the regular-season finale. If Montana and MSU win and share the crown, a coin flip will decide the tournament site.

The Vandals’ 57-47 lead evaporated into a 61-59 deficit in the span of 5-1/2 minutes in the second half.

It was close from that point. Idaho pulled in front 76-75, but MSU’s Nico Harrison spun around a defender and dropped in a left-handed layin.

Idaho had two shots at the bucket, the second created by Harrison’s hustling save on a rebound near the base line. Reggie Rose then misfired and Harrison, sprinting back under the bucket, simply lost control of the rebound.

“That’s just one of those (bad) breaks we’ve been getting all year,” said Rose, who scored 25 points, but only two in the final 13 minutes. “The other team can bounce a ball off their head and it goes right to their man.”

Idaho had another chance to tie, but MSU’s Harrison swiped a Baumann pass and hit two foul shots for an 81-76 lead with 14.3 seconds to play.

Rose made a layup and MSU’s Harrison missed two foul shots to give Idaho a last opportunity.

Baumann’s 27-footer at the buzzer was on line, but off the back iron.

“I thought we played hard and played good,” a glum UI coach Joe Cravens said. “It was a good college game.”

Rose’s effectiveness was limited when MSU went to a zone defense in the second half, eliminating Rose’s slashing drives to the hoop.

“We couldn’t stop them from penetrating,” MSU coach Mick Durham said of switching to a zone defense.

Idaho was outrebounded 24-11 in the second half. Quadre Lollis led MSU with 17, eight offensive.

“Every game, I’m not going to lie, I want to get all the balls,” Lollis said. “Sometimes they blocked me out, sometimes there wasn’t a body on me at all.”

MSU point guard Scott Hatler had a key offensive board with 5:21 left that led to Danny Sprinkle’s 3-pointer and a 68-65 lead.

Rose said his passionate play was inspired by some comments he’s hearing from UI students.

“A lot of fans came out to laugh at us (tonight), that’s what I think,” Rose said. “They thought we’d come out and just roll over, but we proved them wrong.”

Montana St. 81, Idaho 78

Montana State (18-8) - Lollis 7-12 5-11 19, Harrison 3-5 5-8 11, Leachman 9-15 0-0 19, Hatler 2-8 0-0 6, Sprinkle 4-11 0-0 10, Elliott 1-1 0-0 2, Fay 0-1 0-0 0, Sullivan 2-2 0-0 5, Holmstadt 3-4 3-3 9. Totals 31-59 13-22 81.

Idaho (10-15) - Dirden 2-4 2-4 7, Harrison 3-5 4-7 10, Jackman 5-8 0-0 10, Baumann 4-9 0-0 10, Rose 8-18 6-8 25, Turner 2-5 0-0 4, Gardner 4-6 0-1 8, Jones 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 30-59 12-20 78.

Halftime-Idaho 38, Montana State 34. 3-Point goals- Montana State 6-16 (Harrison 0-1, Leachman 1-5, Hatler 2-4, Sprinkle 2-5, Sullivan 1-1), Idaho 6-17 (Dirden 1-2, Baumann 2-6, Rose 3-9). Fouled out-Gardner. Rebounds-Montana State 39 (Lollis 17), Idaho 29 (Harrison 8). Assists-Montana State 22 (Hatler 7), Idaho 13 (Baumann 6). Total fouls- Montana State 19, Idaho 20. A-2,433.

, DataTimes