Idaho suffers letdown loss to Northern Arizona 80-72: ‘It was really a focus thing’
MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho was a tough out but proved to be not quite tough enough against Northern Arizona on Saturday.
The Lumberjacks (13-8, 4-4 Big Sky Conference) prevailed 80-72 after the teams were tied at 57 with 8 minutes, 57 seconds left.
Julius Mims’ dunk with 15 seconds left cut NAU’s lead to 76-72, but the Lumberjacks’ Monty Bowser answered with a dunk seconds later.
The Vandals (9-12, 4-4) were coming off Thursday’s 77-76 win over Big Sky-leading Northern Colorado on Kolton Mitchell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer that was an ESPN play of the day.
They did not look as decisive as they did against the Bears.
“It was really a focus thing,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “The energy was there,”.
Idaho could not seriously hamper Diego Campisano, who went 5 of 7 on 3-pointers in leading the Lumberjacks with 19 points.
While NAU – in mostly man-to-man defense – was challenged to contain UI’s Jack Payne and Mitchell driving to the basket and drawing fouls, the Vandals did not get enough of those opportunities in the second half.
Payne finished 4 of 5 at the free-throw line and 7 of 14 from the field, with a pair of 3-pointers in leading all scorers with 20 points.
Mitchell hit 5 of 6 free throws and two 3-pointers in backing Payne with 15 points.
“The No. 1 key was to play inside-out,” Pribble said of NAU. “They did a good job of forcing us to the perimeter.”
NAU also enjoyed a 42-30 rebounding advantage. Nationally ranked rebounder Carson Towt led the way for NAU with 18.
“This was a big opportunity, and we did not take advantage of it,” Pribble said. “NAU is an experienced team and has won a lot of close battles. Our inexperience showed.”
Mims gave Idaho 16 points and eight rebounds. He was 8 for 8 from the floor and was responsible for almost half of Idaho’s 34 points in the paint.
NAU managed only 26 points in the lane, but the disparity was still not enough in Idaho’s favor.
Mims is battling chronically sore knees. He also missed two games with a neck injury. He endured repeated leg cramps in a win against Eastern Washington, played despite a case of flu in a loss against Montana, and suffered a hard fall and had to briefly leave the game early in the second half against NAU.
The Vandals have lost only one player to injury for the season, Trevon Blassingame.
Freshman forward Ewan Steele is recovering from a rolled ankle and Mims is persevering
As Idaho goes on the road to take on Weber State on Thursday and Idaho State on Saturday, Pribble said the Vandals’ goal is to learn from the NAU loss and improve.
“Get healthy and get better,” Pribble said. “Everyone else (except Blassingame and Steele) is on their way to being their best self.”
Women
Northern Arizona 106, Idaho 76: The Lumberjacks (16-5, 7-1 Big Sky) shot 54% from the field and hit 17 of 33 3-pointers to roll past the Vandals (14-5, 6-2) at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Sophie Glancey led NAU with 28 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
The 30-point margin was more than double the Vandals’ largest loss of the season. Idaho hadn’t allowed more than 71 points previously.