Kolton Mitchell, Biko Johnson lead Idaho over Montana State 92-89

MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho’s Circadian rhythm has the blues.

But it sure made for an exciting finish.

For the second game in a row the Vandals seemed to labor under the delusion tipoff was an hour later.

But this time when it finally awakened, Idaho had just enough luck, gumption, and accuracy to come back from an 18-point deficit at halftime to eke out a 92-89 win at ICCU Arena.

After being outscored 17-2 in the first 4:30 by Montana on Thursday, Idaho’s furious comeback fell short in a 79-73 loss.

The Vandals got behind even further against Montana State. The Bobcats worked a first-half advantage to 28-7 before Biko Johnson hit a 3-pointer for Idaho midway through the period.

“We’ve got to solve this thing coming out of the gate,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “We did respond the right way. We have a resilient group.”

Idaho is now 10-6 overall, 2-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats slipped to 9-8 and 3-1.

Idaho opened the second half with a 12-0 run. The Vandals had cut MSU’s lead to 48-42 on Biko Johnson’s steal and solo break. On their next possession, Kolton Mitchell whipped a behind-the-back pass to Jack Payne, who lofted a 3-pointer that missed. The crowd groaned. But finally, the Vandals were feeling it.

“At that point, I was just kind of going with the flow,” Mitchell said. “When I am able to play on instinct, that’s when I play the best.”

Idaho finally took the lead, 75-74, on Isaiah Brickner’s free throw with 4:50 to play. The Vandals took it for good with 1:17 remaining, 86-84, on Mitchell’s three-pointer. The Bobcats were able to get the margin within one twice down the stretch. Jed Miller’s jumper in the lane made the score 88-87 with 10.5 seconds to play, and his two free throws with 6.2 seconds to go made it 90-89.

However, Payne inbounded a three-quarter court pass to Johnson who finished an easy layup, and Montana State’s attempt to tie the score with a three-point shot at the buzzer missed.

Mitchell came into the game averaging 14.5 points, and he typically sets the scoring pace for the Vandals when they are doing well. But he exited the first half scoreless.

“My blood pressure correlates directly to Kolton’s ability to make shots,” Pribble said.

Mitchell said he was pressing somewhat in the first half but settled into a rhythm in the final period. He and Johnson led Idaho with 23 points each. Johnson had the more impressive line, 9 of 14 from the floor, including 5 of 6 from the arc. Mitchell had to work harder for points: 8 of 18 on field goals, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers, and he sank three free throws.

Brickner contributed 14 points, Jackson Rasmussen 13 and Brody Rowbury 11.

Miller topped the Bobcats with 20 points. Chris Hodges followed with 18. Hodges got 14 of those in the first half when he was regularly winning battles in the paint with Idaho’s Rowbury.

“In the second half, we did a much better job (on defense),” Pribble said.

As much as he was able, Johnson kept the Vandals in contact in the first half with 11 points. Idaho’s most vibrant sign of life occurred late when Payne answered MSU’s Davian Brown’s step back 3-pointer with a trey of his own with 1:10 to go. Ten seconds later, Brickner stole a Bobcat pass and scored on a solo break to cut MSU’s lead to 46-30. The flurry seemed to provide momentum for the Vandals heading into the second half.

It was not like Idaho was taking terrible shots at the start, but nothing was falling. The Vandals hit just 11 of 33 shots, 33 %. The turnaround was dramatic. In the second half, their shooting improved to 23 of 35, 66.7 %.

MSU, by contrast, was 21 of 32 inn the first half, 65.6 %, but it tailed off in the final period to 11 of 23, 47.8 %.

Pribble could not explain the recent slow starts, but he did say every championship team he has been associated with had gone through similar stretches and had learned to win close games because of the experience.

Unfortunately, Idaho’s last two games might have taught its fans an unintended lesson, too.

“People are going to start to believe every Big Sky game comes down to a last possession,” Pribble said.

Women

Montana State 99, Idaho 66: Montana State outclassed Idaho’s potent offense and the Bobcats showed why they’re the Big Sky Conference favorites, routing the Vandals on Saturday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

Montana State (11-4, 4-0 Big Sky), which entered the game second in the conference in scoring offense behind Idaho (11-5, 2-1), started pouring in baskets early and matched a season-high in points.

Guard Ana Pinheiro scored 15 points and post Debora dos Santos had 10 for Idaho, which shot 33.9% from the field and committed a season-high 25 turnovers.

Guard Taylee Chirrick tallied 23 points to lead MSU, which shot 52.2% and hit 12 3s.