Idaho returns to form in rout of rival Idaho State 99-69
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 14—MOSCOW, Idaho — Stung by their third-straight loss, a lackluster performance against Weber State on Thursday, the Idaho men's basketball team played "with desperation and urgency " on Saturday.
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That was the view of coach Alex Pribble, who guided the Vandals to a 99-69 dismantling of Idaho State at ICCU Arena.
The win is Idaho's largest margin of victory in the series since 1989.
The Bengals (10-17, 3-11 Big Sky) themselves came into the game having lost eight in a row. Nonetheless, they are a Big Sky opponent, and Idaho (14-12, 6-7) handled them like one of the outmanned small colleges that often pad Division I teams' records before Christmas.
"I am really, really proud of our guys. This was an important win for our players," Pribble said. Belief gets tested during losing streaks, but the Vandals never wavered, according to Pribble.
"Results finally came," he said.
One of those players who kept the faith exited the game to a standing ovation with 2 minutes, 4 seconds to play. Senior transfer Brody Rowbury, from Meridian, who formerly played at Southeastern Louisiana, sunk a pair of free throws for the last of his 10 points. They lifted him to 1,001 points for his career.
Pribble called Rowbury "the rock of our program."
"He is a special young man. (Scoring) 1,000 in Idaho in front of his friends and family is the way it is supposed to be," Pribble said.
After the game, Rowbury focused less on his milestone than he did on the masterpiece the Vandals turned in against ISU.
"This is the part of the year where teams start to fall off and give into bad times or you overcome them," he said.
Idaho seemed to arrive at the ICCU Arena with a fierce sense of purpose. Even in the pregame warmup, 3-pointers and free throws from all the Vandals fell like rain, and they were not just bouncing around the rim but diving through the cylinder.
From the opening tip, Idaho was active on defense. It scored 19 points off turnovers, and Pribble was pleased that while the Vandals thoroughly locked down ISU on the perimeter (7 of 27 on 3s), they also got into the driving lanes and turned away a team that likes to go to the rack aggressively when it is not launching 3s.
"We can't play on our heels," Pribble said.
Jackson Rasmussen led all scorers with 21 points for Idaho on 9 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 7 at the arc. Isaiah Brickner added 18 for the Vandals and Kolton Mitchell 17.
Pribble noted Mitchell, from Coeur d'Alene, transferred to Idaho from ISU two years ago and playing the Bengals can be an emotional game for him. He channeled it into 7 of 10 shooting (4 of 6 on 3-pointers), seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. A pair of the assists were behind-the-back passes to Rasmussen that resulted in 3-pointers.
Idaho scored at a ridiculous clip in the first half, going 23 of 35 from the floor (66.7%) and 8 of 15 at the arc (53.3%) to double-up the Bengals 60-30 at the break.
The Vandals cooled off a bit in the second half, and ISU played a little better, scoring 39 apiece the rest of the way.
Pribble said the dominant victory restored Idaho's self-confidence. The Vandals next face league-leading Portland State on the road Thursday. The Vikings (17-7, 11-2) fell to Northern Colorado on Saturday 77-65.
" We have another big challenge ahead of us, but now there is not any nervousness," Pribble said.
An Idaho team decimated by flu played the Vikings almost to a standstill in Moscow on Jan. 24, losing 69-66.
In helping to get his team right after successive losses to Montana State, Montana and Weber State, Pribble said the Vandals had a session of "yoga, breathing, visualization."
That begs the question : Will that be an ongoing part of game preparation?
The coach smiled and answered "yes."
Women
Idaho 65, Idaho State 50: Idaho overcame an uncharacteristically inefficient offensive performance and maintained its spot atop the Big Sky standings, winning a road rivalry game against one of the conference's other top programs.
The Vandals leaned on defense and rebounding to extend their winning streak to 10 games, grinding past Idaho State at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho, to complete a season sweep of the Bengals.
Idaho (21-5, 12-1 Big Sky), which boasts the conference's best offense, finished with its second-lowest shooting percentage in a game this season (33.3%) and committed 25 turnovers, two off its season high, but dominated the rebounding battle 47-27 while holding the Bengals (17-8, 10-4) to a season low in scoring on 32.8% from the field, matching their second-worst shooting day of the season, and 1 of 9 from 3.
Posts Lorena Barbosa and Debora dos Santos led Idaho with 15 and 14 points, respectively, and grabbed eight rebounds apiece. Guard Kyra Gardner added 14 points.