Idaho men snag first Big Sky win

MOSCOW — It took six games, but the Idaho men’s basketball team finally stashed away a Big Sky Conference victory with its 74-70 decision against the third-ranked team in the conference, Montana State, on Monday at the ICCU Arena.

“After our loss against (Eastern Washington), Montana State isn’t who you want to see next up on the schedule,” Idaho coach Zac Claus said. “But it shows to the guys that we have a lot more in us as a program.”

Here are some takeaways:

Divant’e Moffitt’s coming out party

Idaho’s fifth-year guard handled a heavy workload Monday and was rewarded, notching a career-high 32 points.

Moffitt was in double figures early, scoring his 11th point with 6:01 remaining in the first half. He finished the first 20 minutes with 13 points.

Moffitt saved his best work for the second half, when he scored 19 points. Many of the guard’s points came from the free-throw line. He finished with more made free throws (14) than field goals (nine).

“This is why we’ve been talking about how excited we are to have (Moffitt),” Claus said. “He’s an explosive high-caliber player and he showed that tonight.”

Vandals almost fall into a trap

The game’s first five minutes couldn’t have gone any better for Idaho.

The Vandals (7-12, 1-5) opened the floodgates early and jumped out to a 12-0 lead. This initial lead gave Idaho enough cushion to lead the entire way. But that didn’t stop the Bobcats (12-8, 5-2) from trying to make in-game adjustments.

The Vandals held their largest lead of 17-4 with 11:56 left in the first half. But by halftime, Montana State had cut its deficit down to 34-29.

What turned the tide was a defensive switch made by the Bobcats. Following a timeout with 10:50 left in the first half, Montana State transitioned to a 1-3-1 trap zone.

The switch prevented Idaho from moving the ball inside, forcing it to shoot the long ball.

The Vandals struggled to find their range by the end of the first half, making just one 3. They finished the game just 7-of-23 from beyond the arc (30.4%).

Idaho was able to find its range in the second half, which is what propelled it toward the end. Dominique Ford notched four 3-pointers and finished second on the team with 16 points.

“He was just locked in tonight,” Claus said. “I have to give credit to (Ford) he was knocking down his 3s, especially in the second half.”

Physical game down low

When a team gets held to 32% shooting and 16% from range, a close game is not expected. But factor in 34 trips to the free-throw line and it starts to make a bit more sense.

The Vandals’ defense was physical and at times too physical, which caused Isaac Jones to foul out.

Jones fouled out with just four points but limited senior Jubrile Belo to just 15 points, 11 of which came from the free-throw line.

The defending Big Sky Player of the Year had 19 points in Montana State’s 72-58 win over the Vandals on Dec. 29, only going to the line three times.

“He did much better on his assignment this time around,” Claus said. “I also don’t want it to get lost that he had two great assists in the game. He’s an unselfish player and he always finds a way to impact the game.”

MONTANA ST. (12-8, 5-2)

Belo 2-9 11-15 15, Battle 9-19 3-4 22, Brown 5-10 2-2 12, Fuller 2-5 4-4 8, Patterson 1-2 0-0 3, R.Ford 0-2 0-0 0, Osobor 1-3 4-5 6, Gazelas 0-3 2-2 2, Lecholat 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-53 28-34 70.

IDAHO (7-12, 1-5)

Burris 4-8 1-2 9, Jones 2-6 0-0 4, D.Ford 6-11 0-1 16, Moffitt 9-17 14-23 32, Salih 2-7 0-0 6, T.Smith 1-4 0-0 2, R.Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Hanshaw 2-2 0-0 5, Harge 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 15-26 74.

Halftime_Idaho 34-29. 3-Point Goals: Montana St. 2-12 (Patterson 1-2, Battle 1-5, Brown 0-1, R.Ford 0-1, Gazelas 0-1, Fuller 0-2), Idaho 7-23 (D.Ford 4-7, Salih 2-6, Hanshaw 1-1, Moffitt 0-1, R.Smith 0-2, Burris 0-3, T.Smith 0-3). Fouled Out: Jones. Rebounds: Montana St. 34 (Belo 11), Idaho 27 (Jones 8). Assists: Montana St. 4 (Belo, Brown, Patterson, Osobor 1), Idaho 14 (Moffitt 7). Total Fouls: Montana St. 23, Idaho 24. A: 1,979 (4,200).