It was a great night to be a basketball fan as Idaho and Idaho State put on a show Saturday. Fifth year guard Divant’e Moffitt hit a high layup to send the game into overtime, but the Vandals ended up falling 95-91.
Both teams started the night with threes and continued to battle through the first half. The Vandals were able to jump to a five-point lead before the Bengals hit a couple layups and a three to go up two. After a seven-point ISU run, the Bengals almost got a turnover, but sophomore guard Yusef Salih saved it. Salih then cut to the basket, dished out to Jones and Jones slammed it down to bring the game down to two scores.
Redshirt sophomore forward/center John Harge and freshman forward Nigel Burris tied the game twice after Jones’ dunk, but then the Bengals started running again. Idaho State went on a 9-2 run before a technical foul was assessed to sophomore guard Miguel Tomley. Moffitt hit the free throw then fifth-year guard Trey Smith hit a three to cut the Bengals’ lead down to three.
About two-and-a-half minutes later, the Vandals were finally able to get back on top with 3:24 to go. Idaho held onto their one-point lead through the rest of the half, ending the quarter up 37-36.
Both teams shot very well in the first half. Idaho shot 13/25 overall, 4/13 from three and 7/7 from the free throw line. Idaho State shot 16/31 from the field and 4/9 from three.
The second half started with a shooting foul called with 12 seconds off the clock. Jones went to the line and hit both to put Idaho up three early. Twenty seconds later, senior guard Brock Mackenzie hit a three to tie things back up. That three led to Idaho State eventually going up seven, and they fluctuated between a two and seven-point lead for almost eight minutes of play.
Once again, Jones cut the lead down as he hit a layup and the and-one to make it a one-point game. Three plays later, he was back at the line as the Vandals were down one. He hit both free throws and Idaho was back on top with 9:33 to go.
Idaho’s one-point lead was short lived as Mackenzie and Tomley hit consecutive layups to put Idaho State back up three. A three from Smith and a layup from Jones tied the game up again twice in the span of just over one minute, but then the Bengals ran again. Idaho State was able to take a six-point lead with 2:42 remaining, but Idaho wasn’t out yet.
The Vandals were able to cut the Bengals’ lead back down to one with 13 seconds remaining. Salih was forced to foul and hope that at least one free throw didn’t go in. Freshman guard Maleek Arlington stepped up to line, missed the first and hit the second, making it a two-point game with 10 seconds to go.
Moffitt took the ball up the court, drove to the basket and put up a floater off the backboard. The shot banked in perfectly off the backboard and right into the rim, tying the game up with 4.5 seconds to go. Idaho State immediately called a timeout and tried to draw up a game winning play. Arlington drove nearly the full length of the court, put up almost the same shot as Moffitt, but the ball bounced a little too hard and hit the very front of the rim to send the game into overtime.
The first half of overtime was held by Idaho, but they were never able to get more than a two-point lead. Jones was called for two fouls in a span of 30 seconds, fouling out with just over two minutes remaining in overtime. With Jones on the bench, the Bengals had a much easier time scoring. Idaho State finished out overtime with a layup and four free throws to win 95-91.
Mackenzie led all scorers with 30 points, shooting 11/19 from the field, 3/8 from three and 5/5 from the free throw line. Leading in assists for the Bengals were senior forward Jay Nagle and Tomley with three each. Nagle also led in boards alongside junior center Brayden Parker, each with five.
Idaho was led in scoring by Jones with 27 points, shooting 7/14 from the field, 0/1 from three and 13/13 from the free throw line. He also led in rebounds with 14 to put up his eighth double-double of the season. Leading the charge in playmaking was Moffitt as he dished out five assists.
Idaho will be on the road this week to take on Portland State at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Sacramento State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Vandals will be looking to avenge an overtime loss to the Hornets and a 16-point loss to the Vikings during this road stint.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JamesAldrich25.