Kolton Mitchell makes buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Idaho win against Northern Colorado 77-76

MOSCOW, Idaho – This moment may prove crucial for Idaho men’s basketball.
If the Vandals emerge from six losing seasons this year, Kolton Mitchell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take down Big Sky Conference leader Northern Colorado 77-76 on Thursday will have started the momentum.
Idaho has been on the losing end of so many close games. When Northern Colorado’s Jaron Rille drove through the Vandals’ defense for a basket that put the Bears ahead 76-74 with 3.7 seconds to play, this seemed like another heartbreaker.
Mitchell, a redshirt freshman from Coeur d’Alene, got the inbound pass. As instructed by Idaho coach Alex Pribble, Mitchell said he didn’t try to count seconds but estimated how many dribbles he had before time was up.
“I thought I had three, or 3½,” he said.
A glance at the clock showed those dribbles got him within about 30 feet of the basket with two seconds remaining.
“It was out of my range. I wouldn’t shoot that normally,” Mitchell said.
But the ball decisively found the bottom of the net. The crowd of 1,716 that had been loud through the final 10 minutes as Idaho made a game of it – then silenced by Rille’s shot – found its voice again at ICCU Arena.
Pribble said the typical call would have been to take a timeout to set up a last shot.
“But we wanted to attack an unset defense,” he said. “We didn’t want to allow them time to set their defense.”
“I just do my thing,” Mitchell said. “I was just going down, letting it go.”
Pribble often says the Vandals make a point of “going 1-0.”
“This actually feels a little bit bigger than that,” he said. “It was a big win for our culture. Culture changes the actions on court. The actions on court change the outcome.”
UNC appeared to have taken the measure of Idaho near the end of first half when Rille hit a step-back 3-pointer with two seconds to play to give the Bears (14-6, 6-1)a 36-26 lead.
But the Vandals (9-11, 4-3) came out after halftime and matched the Bears’ quickness and intensity. They reduced the deficit to 56-54 with 7:20 to go when Kristian Gonzalez had a steal and fed Tyler Linhardt, who scored on the fast break.
Idaho hung tough until finally grabbing a 69-68 lead on Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 2:18 to play.
Linhardt drew a foul against Langston Reynolds with 34.5 seconds remaining. His two free throws knotted the score at 74 until Rille’s apparent winner.
Mitchell led all scorers with 25 points and went 5 of 9 on 3-pointers. Linhardt added 17 points and Julius Mims 10 for the Vandals. Mims was battling flu, according to Pribble, and was too sick to take part in the pregame shootaround.
Reynolds paced UNC with 22 points, followed by Rille’s 19, Brock Wisne’s 14 and former Vandal Quinn Denker’s 12.
“Every time they are not playing us, I am rooting for Quinn Denker,” Pribble said.
While their comeback spoke to their belief in themselves, Pribble said the Vandals’ the next goal is to carry that over to Saturday, when Idaho plays host to Northern Arizona.
“You just keep hoping the guys learn and you keep touching on it,” Pribble said. “You keep hoping this experience pays off.”
Women
Idaho 68, Northern Colorado 57: Olivia Nelson collected a team-high 27 points and eight rebounds, and the Vandals (14-4, 6-1 Big Sky) built a double-digit halftime lead in a win over the Bears (8-10, 1-6) in Greeley, Colorado.
Hope Hassmann contributed 12 points for Idaho, which led 34-24 at halftime. Rosie Schweizer chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for the Vandals, who pulled within a game of first-place Montana State in the conference standings.
Tatum West compiled 14 points and 10 rebounds, and London Gamble added 13 points for Northern Colorado.