The Idaho Vandals men’s basketball team went to Pocatello, Idaho, this past Thursday and faced off against their in-state rival, Idaho State University. With an attendance of nearly 2,000 people, the crowd was the biggest of the season for the Bengals.
The Vandals started off the game hot and had a steady lead until the half, where they were down by just one point. In the second half, the Bengals pulled away after the game was tied at 60 and beat the Idaho Vandals 76-68.
In the first half of the game, points from Idaho came from second chance points. The game was back and forth, with Idaho only shooting 20%from the three-point line.
On the other side of the ball, the Bengals shot very well for the whole game, and they went into halftime with a three-point percentage of 45%.
Idaho was up 36-29 right before Idaho State went on an 8-point run, leading to a halftime score of 37-36.
In the second half, Idaho only hit two more three-pointers and ended the game with a 15%three-point percentage. While they didn’t have that going for them, the score stayed relatively close for 15 minutes.
Idaho shot 10-15 from the free throw line, and they had 16 points in the paint. After the Vandals were winning 60-55, Idaho State went on a 13-point run, which sealed the game in the final three minutes.
One player who had a pretty strong game was freshman forward Jackson Rasmussen, who finished the game with 19 points and was 7-11 from the field, along with five rebounds.
Off the bench, senior guard Isaiah Brickner had 12 points in 22 minutes of playing time.
Both teams played well tonight, with the game staying close until the end. Idaho State pulled away by shooting better from the three-point line.
The Vandals are now 10-7 in the season, and 2-2 in the Big Sky Conference. They will play Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Ogden, Utah, at 6 p.m.
Weber State is 4-1 in conference play, and so a win from the Vandals would bump them up in the standings and give the Vandals some momentum before they come back home to ICCU Arena this upcoming week.