by MOSCOW, Idaho – The Vandal men (4-12, 1-4 BSC) fell at home to Montana State (7-8, 4-1 BSC), 77-67, on Thursday night in the Cowan Spectrum.
THE GAME
Neither team got out to much of a start, eventually resulting in a 6-6 stalemate nearly six minutes into the contest. Montana State used an incredibly balanced offense to go on a run and take the 30-21 advantage into the break.
The Vandal defense was strong in the first half, holding the Bobcats to 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from the floor and 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from beyond the arc. The offense, however, was slow to get going and finished 9-of-29 (31.0%) from the field and 3-of-15 (20.0%) from deep in the half.
While the defense kept Idaho alive in the first half, the offense took over in the second. The Vandals were able to cut the deficit to three on two occasions, both on 3-pointers from RayQuawndis Mitchell. The freshman got hot, knocking down both midway through the frame to ignite the crowd and swing the momentum back to the Vandals.
But when the offense got going, the defense started to struggle with Tyler Hall and Harald Frey. Each scored 14 in the second half, and combined for six assists. The Vandals were able to put up 46 points in the second, but the Bobcats netted 47. In the end, Montana State took the 77-67 win.
Trevon Allen (Umatilla) led the way for Idaho with 23 points on 10-of-17 (58.8%) shooting. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists. Mitchell added a career-best 15 points off the bench, while Cameron Tyson chipped in with 11 points.
THE NOTES
Idaho falls to 4-12 on the season and 1-4 in Big Sky play.
Allen topped 20 points for the third time in the last four games.
