Portland State rallies past shorthanded Idaho in second half 77-72

Dec. 30—MOSCOW, Idaho — Down two starters and having a third starter and the team's leading rebounder Julius Mims get in foul trouble early in the second half Saturday tested Idaho's resilience.

The Vandals did not fall short by much, but they faltered just enough to allow Portland State to come back from a 41-33 halftime deficit and pull away in the final 90 seconds for a 77-72 win.

Both teams finish the first week of Big Sky Conference play 1-1. Overall, the Vikings improved to 10-4 and Idaho slipped to 7-7.

Idaho was without starters D'Angelo Minnis (illness) and Terren Frank (undisclosed issue).

Idaho coach Alex Pribble and several Vandals players didn't hang the defeat on the lack of key manpower. Instead, they pointed to a defensive effort that stuttered coming out of halftime.

"When we come out of the locker room at the half, we have to be ready to play. If we do that, we put ourselves in a much better position at the end of the game," sophomore guard Trevon Blassingame said.

"It felt like we had more than enough guys," added Tyler Linhardt, who led Idaho with 18 points.

"I believe depth is a strength of this team," Pribble said. "But we were shorthanded tonight."

Pribble pointed out that Quinn Denker, who hit a last-second buzzer-beater against Sacramento State on Thursday, played all 40 minutes of that game and nearly 39 minutes against PSU.

"But we do not want to use that as an excuse," he said.

"The first 4 minutes of the second half are the most important part of the game," Pribble added. ... "We have to come out of the locker room more consistent defensively."

In the first 4 minutes, the Vikings cut the Vandals' lead to 47-46, as Ismail Habib hit a 3-pointer in rhythm. In those same 4 minutes, Mims picked up his third foul. Mims finished with two points and four rebounds, well short of the 11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game he is averaging. He played less than 19 minutes.

The Vikings gained their first lead since scoring the game's opening basket with 9:50 left when Jorell Saterfield hit a 3-pointer for a 60-59 edge.

Idaho suffered through a bad stretch when Takai Hardy missed a pair of free throws, Saterfield connected from the baseline and Bobby Harvey added a 3-pointer from the corner for the Vikings. Then Mims, Denker and Kyson Rose all left shots on the rim on successive trips down the court for the Vandals.

Idaho cut the Vikings' lead to 75-72 on Linhardt's two free throws with 1:36 to play, but the Vandals got no closer.

"I was proud of our guys for their response when (the Vikings) were up by eight. We battled back," Pribble said.

With Mims — who was called for his fourth foul with 13:31 left — spending much of the second half on the bench, PSU controlled the boards. The Vikings outrebounded Idaho 41-36 and had a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The Vikings' K.J. Allen was the game's leading rebounder with 11.

Pribble noted PSU's experience and physical play around the basket.

"When they win, they dominate the glass," Pribble said.

Idaho was forced to go with a smaller lineup because of foul trouble.

"That cost us on the glass," Pribble said.

Idaho had balanced scoring. Denker followed Linhardt with 17 points. Rose and Blassingame added 12 apiece, and Kristian Gonzalez scored 11.

Allen led the Vikings with 16 points. Saterfield added 15. Isaiah Johnson 13 and Kendall Munson 11.

Idaho women

Idaho 61, Portland State 55: Kennedy Johnson scored a team-high 16 points to go with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals to lead the Vandals (7-5, 2-0 Big Sky) over the host Vikings (5-7, 0-2) at Viking Pavilion in Portland.

Idaho stalled early on and trailed 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.

The Vandals rallied in the second quarter to take a 31-26 lead at halftime.

Hope Butera added 12 points and Sarah Schmitt scored 10 for the Vandals.