Empty possessions haunt Idaho men in lopsided loss to Montana 80-57

Montana’s 80-57 win against Idaho on Saturday in Moscow, Idaho, was lopsided, but at key points in the second half, the Vandals had some opportunities to somewhat slow the Grizzlies.

With about 9 minutes to play, and trailing 64-45, high-flying Vandal Julius Mims jumped his own bench and into the first row to flick a ball behind him back onto the court. Montana’s Dischon Thomas recovered it, but Idaho’s Quinn Denker slapped at the ball and forced Thomas to mishandle it out of bounds. Possession went over to the Vandals, but Idaho could not finish with points.

With just under 4 minutes remaining and down 76-54, Terren Frank intercepted a pass intended for Thomas and went on a solo break, only to leave the shot on the front rim.

Idaho’s leading scorer, EJ Neal, with 15 points, was also unable to finish a break when he was fouled. He got two free throws, but only managed to convert one.

“There were moments when the momentum could have changed, but we couldn’t make plays that changed the direction,” Vandals coach Alex Pribble said.

Still, it’s putting a fine point on a true rout. Reversing Montana’s momentum would have been like stopping an avalanche with a snow shovel.

For the third game in a row, Idaho found itself in a deep hole early.

Unlike its lackluster performance against Montana State on Thursday, when the Vandals lost 62-48, Idaho came out energized against the Grizzlies.

But it was another tough first half for the Vandals. They trailed by as many as 19 points before ending the half behind 41-29.

It didn’t get any better after halftime. Montana reeled off the first nine points of the second half and had Idaho down by 24 with 8:07 left.

The Grizzlies’ Aanen Moody hit 4 of 5 3-pointers in rhythm from well beyond the arc and led all scorers with 22 points. Pribble pointed to an inability to defend the 3-point line.

“They got five 3s in transition,” he said. … “Moody is special.”

Thomas followed with 20 points for the Grizzlies and Te’Jon Sawyer added 14.

Sawyer, 6-foot-8, and Thomas (6-9) caused big problems for Idaho’s interior defenders until, with about 4 minutes remaining in the first half, Tyler Linhardt (6-7) made his return from a broken foot that has sidelined him since the end of January and immediately contributed four points. He gave the Vandals a turn of speed on a quick first step and spin moves, and he provided a muscular presence near the basket to contest the Grizzlies inside game. Linhardt finished with six points in 13:45 minutes

“Tyler Linhardt battled today,” Pribble said. “He is still trying to find his rhythm.”

Idaho’s lone senior, D’Angelo Minnis, also resumed his role as the starter at point guard after missing several games with a bruised heel. He was held to five points, but the Vandals could use extra minutes from both players in their final regular-season game Monday at Portland State and in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise.

“Before we were hurt, we had been playing some really good basketball,” Minnis said.

As they did against the Bobcats, Idaho’s reserves did more than the starters to try to blunt the Grizzlies’ attack and give the Vandals a spark on offense. Neal exemplified this with his points off the bench to lead the Vandals. He also grabbed three rebounds, made two assists and three steals and drew a charge.

“Every time he touches the floor, he plays as hard as he can,” Pribble said.

With the win, Montana is 20-10 overall and 11-6 and tied for second in the Big Sky. After losing three of its past four games, Idaho is 11-19, 5-12, and can finish no higher than ninth in the Big Sky. The Vandals will play the opening-round No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 game against Sacramento State in the tournament.

Pribble attributed the recent losing streak less to teams figuring out the Vandals and more to Idaho being burdened by assumptions that it should be playing better than its record.

“As a team, we are holding a lot of frustration right now,” he said.

“We are playing with expectations now. Guys are worrying more about the scoreboard.”

A month ago, Pribble said, when the Vandals took Montana to the wire before falling 73-70 in Missoula, beat Montana State, Sacramento State, Idaho State and Northern Arizona, and gave a good accounting of themselves in a one-point loss to Weber State, the team would not seize up when it encountered challenges.

“we were letting it rip,” Pribble said.

The goal is to get back to that for the tournament.

“We need to do a better job on the court,” Linhardt said. “It has nothing to do with coaching. We need to come together as players.”

Women

Montana 64, Idaho 48: The Vandals (14-15, 7-10 Big Sky) faded in the second quarter and lost to the Grizzlies (20-8, 12-5) at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

The Grizzlies used a 10-0 run to create a comfortable lead midway through the second quarter. The Vandals trailed by at least seven points during the second half and fell behind by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Idaho guard Kennedy Johnson led all scorers with 19 points. Fellow guards Sarah Schmitt and Asha Phillips contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. The rest of the Vandals combined for eight points on 2-of-19 shooting. The Vandals shot 40% from the field as a team and 4 of 14 (28.6%) on 3-point tries.

Guard Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw paced Montana with 16 points. Guard Gina Marxen, a former Idaho standout, had 10 points. The Grizzlies shot 35.3% from the field and 6 of 29 (20.7%) on 3-pointers but took advantage of a plus-20 rebounding margin.

Idaho plays its regular-season finale at 6 p.m. Monday against Portland State at the ICCU Arena in Moscow.