Idaho runs away with 84-47 win over Northern Illinois behind Divant’e Moffitt’s 22 points

MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho was supposed to be the easy half of a two-game road stretch for Northern Illinois.

The Vandals, however, played probably their most complete game of the season, broke open a seesaw contest in the final 7 minutes of the first half and then ran away to an 84-47 nonconference win.

Now comes the hard part for the Huskies (3-6): They return to the Northwest on Dec. 12 to play Gonzaga .

Not much on the stat sheet would cause anyone at Idaho displeasure. The Vandals (3-5) limited NIU to 33.3 % shooting (18 of 54). They forced 16 turnovers while handing out 13 assists, outrebounded the Huskies 37-29 and, as Vandals coach Zac Claus pointed out, committed 12 fouls.

“I am beyond thrilled for our guys to play that way defensively,” Claus said. “That’s where the sizable growth can come from.”

Idaho’s Divant’e Moffitt led all scorers with 22 points. He had 14 points in an 18-8 run for the Vandals to pull ahead 35-24 at halftime. That included three 3-pointers – the last sliding off the back iron and falling through the rim in the final second.

“We knew we were playing good defense,” Moffitt said. “The shots weren’t falling. But we knew we would get rewarded by the game. We kept respecting the game.”

Moffitt kept up the pace with six quick points in the second half before being pulled briefly.

“I had a bum lip,” he said. “I got elbowed. I had blood on my jersey.”

NIU tried to harass Idaho with intermittent backcourt pressure and had 11 steals, but Idaho shot an efficient 56.4% for the game (31 of 56).

Four Huskies had two steals apiece, including leading scorer Keshawn Williams, who had 10 points. He was the only NIU player to score in double figures.

Isaac Jones followed Moffitt with 17 points for the Vandals. He and Nigel Burris led Idaho with seven rebounds apiece. Jones blocked two shots. He was also 5 for 5 on free throws as gave the Vandals a presence inside.

“This game was pretty physical,” Jones said. “Nobody was playing soft. You had to earn every bucket.”

Dominique Ford, with 12 points and Burris, with 11, also scored in double figures for the Vandals.

Considering their 84-81 win against Pacific on Nov. 25, Moffitt was asked if he thought Idaho had turned a corner.

“As much as you want to, you can’t expect it to click in the first game or two,” he said of an Idaho team with 10 new players. “We were very patient. But we’re not looking back again.”

Claus acknowledged the Vandals are experiencing a breakthrough but winning still feels tenuous.

“The clock couldn’t tick fast enough for me. The lead was never big enough,” he said.