Senior Day energy and major Big Sky Conference standings implications filled ICCU Arena on Saturday afternoon as two teams tied for sixth place in the conference, with just two games remaining, were competing for an opportunity to earn a first-round bye in the tournament.
The top five teams receive first-round byes in the conference tournament, an achievement Idaho has not reached since the 2017-18 season.
A second-half surge from the Northern Colorado Bears (19-11, 9-8) spoiled the moment as the Idaho Vandals (16-14, 8-9) fell 76-67.
Before tip-off, Idaho honored seniors Brody Rowbury, Biko Johnson, Isaiah Brickner, Tyler Linhardt and Aiden Sevilla in a pregame ceremony recognizing their contributions to the program.
“While it’s not your traditional group of guys who have played three or four years together, it is guys who have bled and sweated and given their all to the Vandals, and I’m just extremely grateful to those guys,” said head coach Alex Pribble.
In the first matchup against Northern Colorado, Idaho fell 91-83 in Greeley on Jan. 29, when former Vandal guard Quinn Denker delivered a dominant 35-point, 10-assist, seven-rebound performance against his former team.
On Saturday, Denker once again proved to be the difference, finishing with 33 points and seven rebounds while knocking down four three-pointers. Brock Wisne added 15 points to complement the Bears’ second-half offensive push.
Pribble acknowledged the challenge of defending Denker’s versatility, especially given their history together.
“The role that he plays for Northern Colorado is the role that I envisioned him playing here. When Quinn had no options out of his Division II school, we were the team that believed in him,” Pribble said. “He’shard to stop. It’s the versatility that makes him so tough.”
Fueled by 2,459 fans, one of its largest crowds in nearly two years, Idaho opened with strong energy on both ends of the floor. The Vandals shot 45% in the first half and controlled the paint behind physical interior play.
Pribble credited the crowd for helping sustain the early momentum.
“9-4 in our home building this year. This is an exciting time to come out to ICCU, and I really appreciate the crowd that was here, and I thought they spurred us through a lot of this game,” he said.
Despite the early push from Idaho, Northern Colorado used its first major momentum swing, a 10-0 run, to take a 16-12 lead midway through the half.
The Vandals entered halftime leading 40-33, playing the physical style they hoped would flip the script from the first meeting.
The turning point came in the second half. After Idaho built its largest lead of the game at 11 points, Northern Colorado answered with a 15-1 run to take control. Idaho briefly regained the lead following a five-point burst, but the Bears delivered the decisive stretch, a 13-0 run that pushed their advantage to double digits.
Pribble pointed to execution lapses during those runs as a recurring issue this season.
“A bit of an Achilles heel for us this year has been when things don’t go well, or an opponent goes on a run, we lose our focus on executing our game plan on both ends of the court,” Pribble said. “Later in the game, we started settling for poor shots or okay shots instead of continuing to pound the ball inside.”
Northern Colorado outshot Idaho significantly for the second time this season.
Despite the loss, Idaho did some things well. The Vandals knocked down six three-pointers Saturday, pushing their single-season total to 312 and breaking last year’s program record of 308. Idaho has now hit 10 or more three-pointers in 22 of its 30 games this season.
After being dominated in the paint in the first matchup, the Vandals reversed that trend, outscoring Northern Colorado 34-20 inside. Idaho also dominated second-chance opportunities, holding a 15-0 advantage while collecting 18 offensive rebounds.
“We were the more physical team tonight, and that’s kind of a hard pill to swallow when you lose on your home floor when you are the more physical team,” he said.
Brickner led Idaho with 15 points and seven rebounds but struggled with efficiency, shooting 5-17 from the field. Rasmussen matched him with 15 points and added five rebounds, continuing his strong play against the Bears and combining for 44 points across the two meetings.
Johnson finished with 12 points but shot 5-of-16 overall and 1-7 from beyond the arc.
The offensive struggles were magnified by the absence of starting point guard Kolton Mitchell, who remains sidelined with a back injury and has no clear timetable for return. With Johnson and Brickner combining to shoot 10-33, Idaho struggled to maintain offensive rhythm late.
With the loss, Idaho is officially eliminated from contention for a first-round bye and will play on the opening day of the “Starch Madness” conference tournament in Boise.
Regardless, the season has featured notable progress for the program. At 16-14 with one game remaining, Idaho is guaranteed to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2017-18 season, which is an encouraging step in Pribble’s third year leading the Vandals.
The Vandals will close the regular season Monday in Cheney when they take on the Eastern Washington Eagles (13-17, 11-6) at 6 p.m. before turning their attention to the conference tournament.