After an impressive win last week against Sacramento State in California’s capital, the (16-13, 8-8) Idaho Vandals men’s basketball team then traveled over 800 miles back home for their next matchup. This time against the (10-19, 4-12) Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, who are dead last in the Big Sky Conference.
At first, the matchup was back and forth, but the Vandals pulled away big in the second half and ultimately won 78-58, sweeping the Lumberjacks and extending their winning streak to two games.
Once the game started, both team’steams’ defenses began to prevail early. For the first few minutes, no team could get on the board, as the defenses shut down every opportunity. About two and a half minutes in, Northern Arizona struck first as graduate forward Traivar Jackson nailed a layup.
It didn’t take long for Idaho to respond, as redshirt sSophomore guard Miles Klapper took the ball down the court and nailed a two-pointer to tie it up. Klapper came in to fill in for an injured Kolton Mitchell. Mitchell suffered an injury when Idaho faced Portland State a week ago, and is questionable for a return against Northern Colorado on Saturday.
“He has a little bit of a back injury, and we will figure it out one day at a time,” head coach Alex Pribble said in the post-game interview.
After Klapper tied the game at two, senior guard Isaiah Brickner drained a three-pointer to take the lead, which the Vandals never gave up. After this, both offenses began to wake up as the game went back and forth for quite some time and led the Lumberjacks 14-9 in the first ten minutes.
After that, the Vandals began to pull away late in the first half. Northern Arizona wouldn’t give up that easy as they picked apart the Vandal’s defense and nailed back-to-back three-pointers, cutting the lead down to eight. At the end of the first half, the Vandals led 37-29.
Coming out of the locker room, Pribble’s halftime speech must have sparked something in the team as the Vandals came out red hot.
Brickner started things off with an easy layup, which led to a three-pointer by freshman forward Jackson Rasmussen.
Rasmussen easily had the best game on the Vandals squad. In just under 30 minutes played, Rasmussen had a team high 19 points and seven rebounds, while going 3-5 on the three-point line.
“He’s got this deep inner confidence about him,” Pribble said.
“When that ball is in his hands, he shoots the ball with confidence, so that three-point shooting is an area that he has been improving, and I love seeing him shoot the ball with confidence.”
The Vandals didn’t let up as senior forward Brody Rowbury hit a two-pointer which sparked another offensive surge for the Vandals. After Rowbury scored, senior guard Biko Johnson cashed in a three-pointer, followed by another three-pointer by Rasmussen. The Vandals offense continued to break down Northern Arizona’s defense all the way through the end, ultimately taking care of business in the win.
“With no Kolton Mitchell, and a couple other guys who are banged up and not 100 percent, the team didn’t back down; they didn’t make excuses. They showed resilience and stepped up and played hard,” Pribble said when asked about the team’s performance. “I’m really proud of these guys and proud of their effort, and all in all good performance.”
He also encouraged students and members of the Moscow community to attend this Saturday for the team’s final home game of the season.
“Come out on Saturday to the ICCU. I think it’s been a very fun year honoring the seniors, it would really mean a lot to us, and our women are playing for something really special, so I hope the students and the community come out and pack the ICCU Arena,” he said.
That toughness continues to define this Idaho team. Even with injuries, the Vandals continued their success and confidence on both ends of the floor, even without a few star players. With a winning streak building, Idaho now looks ahead to their final home matchup.
Idaho will protect the ICCU Arena one last time this season as they take on the 18-11 Northern Colorado Bears on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m.