The tension thickened inside Idaho Central Credit Union Arena as the Idaho Vandals trailed the Portland State Vikings by four points with under a minute to go. With the ball in their hands, it was destined to be a chaotic finish.
Senior guard Biko Johnson came off a Viking defender and got open behind the three-point line. Redshirt sophomore guard Kolton Mitchell whipped his head around and saw him. Johnson rose up with the weight of the moment on his shoulders and swished the three-pointer, cutting the lead to one and bringing the 2,366 fans inside ICCU Arena to life.
Portland State turned to who they had relied on all night long, senior forward Terri Miller Jr., who finished with 29 points and five rebounds and was efficient everywhere he went with the ball in his hands. He got the ball down low, made a move and calmly kissed the ball off the glass, giving the Vikings the lead and the 69-66 victory over Idaho, dropping them to (12-8, 4-3).
“We feel like we can beat that team,” head coach Alex Pribble said postgame. “We have to become a more consistent ball club in order to get that done, but we feel like we’re capable of beating that team. We’re going to walk away with a sense of confidence.”
The Vandals battled adversity both on the court and off as they came into the game with a number of their players suffering from an illness and not at 100%. Throughout it all, they took the (13-5, 7-0) Portland State to the wire.
As the game tipped off, it was apparent it was going to be a physical battle. Portland State tried to establish the paint and was met with resistance. Idaho got out to an 8-4 lead and battled back and forth with the Vikings on both ends of the floor.
Midway through the half, redshirt junior Jack Payne made a layup to tie the game at 19. From then on, the Vikings came alive.
The Vikings knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and went on an 8-0 run to stretch their lead. Portland State took a 33-26 lead into the locker room.
Senior center Tre-Vaughn Minott got the Vikings started in the second half with an emphatic dunk and continued their momentum.
Payne buried a three-pointer and got a layup to fall, cutting the lead to six. The action went back and forth, and when it seemed like the Vikings’ physicality was wearing the Vandals down, they stepped up and made enough plays defensively to stay in the game.
The duo of senior guards Isaiah Brickner and Biko Johnson started to dominate down the stretch. Brickner, who has been the backbone of the Vandals’ bench, was scoring at will, getting to the rim, knocking down threes, and causing issues for the Vikings.
Brickner was great on offense but was making plays on the defensive end leading to his offense. With the Vandals trailing 51-42 Miller Jr. got the ball deep in the paint. Brickner, from the backside, knocked the ball away and raced down the court.
Brickner, got all the way to the hoop spun in the air past Portland State defenders and laid the ball up to give Idaho some momentum.
Brickner led the Vandals with 22 points and six rebounds 15 of those 22 coming in the second half.
Johnson has come up big for the Vandals all season, and he did the same with his decision-making and timely shots. The duo helped the Vandals cut the lead to 63-55 with just under five minutes to play. On the next possession, he laced a three-pointer to cut the lead to five.
Johnson for the second straight game ended with 20 points he added six rebounds and was the Vandals go-to guy down the stretch.
Idaho kept fighting back, and after Johnson hit his fourth three of the game, he had the Vandals within one. But in the end, it was not enough.
Pribble, despite the loss, believes in this team and that brighter days are ahead for Idaho basketball.
“This team’s best basketball is still ahead of us,” Pribble said. “We have a lot to learn, and we’re going to get better. I love this group, but we’re not where we need to be right now. We just need to learn the right lessons and keep moving forward.”
Idaho will finish out their three-game homestand with a matchup against the (11-10, 1-7) Northern Colorado Bears on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m.