Idaho men dig out of double-digit hole to beat Northern Arizona 86-76

From staff reports

Idaho erased a big early deficit and surged late for an 86-76 Big Sky Conference victory over Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Vandals (11-17, 5-10 Big Sky) fell into a double-digit hole after about 6 minutes, then went down by 15 points at the 8:48 mark of the first half. But Idaho woke up down the stretch of the first half, outscoring NAU 15-4 over the final 5 minutes.

The teams played even until the final minutes. Vandals shooters caught fire, and Idaho scored 13 points in the last 2 minutes while the Lumberjacks (13-16, 6-9) managed six during that stretch.

Guard Quinn Denker paced Idaho with 20 points (7-of-15 shooting from the field), seven rebounds and seven assists. Forward Julius Mims had 15 points and guard EJ Neal added 14 as the Vandals 47.6% from the field and 21 of 26 from the foul line.

The Lumberjacks shot 38.7% from the floor and 3 of 21 (14.3%) on 3-point attempts.

Guard Oakland Fort scored 25 points and forward Trenton McLaughlin had 18 for NAU.

With 11 wins under first-year coach Alex Pribble, Idaho is in the midst of its most successful season since 2017-18.

The Vandals will host Montana State at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Women

Northern Arizona 60, Idaho 55: Northern Arizona separated from a tight game with a late scoring run and downed Idaho in a Big Sky women’s basketball matchup at the ICCU Arena in Moscow, Idaho.

NAU (20-8, 12-3 Big Sky) started to pull away midway through the final quarter. The Lumberjacks went on an 8-1 run to take a 54-46 lead with about 3 minutes remaining, and the Vandals (13-14, 6-9) couldn’t trim into the deficit down the stretch.

The Lumberjacks stayed alive in the Big Sky title race. They trail Eastern Washington by one game in the conference standings.

Idaho led by seven points at the half but was outscored 30-18 in the second half.

Vandals guard Kennedy Johnson led all scorers with 18 points and point guard Sarah Schmitt added 11 points. Idaho shot 37.7% from the field and 4 of 17 (23.5%) from 3-point range.

NAU shot 37.3% from the floor and 5 of 22 (22.7%) on 3-pointers. Guard Nyah Moran led the Lumberjacks with 14 points.

Idaho meets Montana State at 6 p.m. Thursday in Bozeman.