UI rallies, then fades

RENO, Nev. - The Vandals had blitzed the Grizzlies early before holding on for a hard-fought win the previous day. On Friday night, Idaho had to endure a North Dakota onslaught before rallying in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament.

But crunch time saw the momentum take another turn. Idaho lost 69-64.

For the second straight game, North Dakota shot out of the gates. Two days after hitting 15 of its first 19 shots to bulldoze Portland State, the tournament's top seed made eight of its first 11 to build a 26-9 lead over the Vandals just nine minutes into the game.

But Idaho rallied back, cutting the lead to four points late in the first half despite the shooting struggles of leading scorer Victor Sanders. After halftime, the Vandals continued to apply defensive pressure to chip away at the Big Sky regular-season champions.

Sanders hit a floater in the lane with 13 minutes to play to give Idaho its first lead after trailing by as many as 17. That shot ignited the first-team All-Big Sky guard and the Vandals. Sanders hit two straight 3-pointers to push the lead to two possessions. But the Fighting Hawks used another explosive run to earn a spot in today's championship.

UND put together an 18-1 run to turn the Idaho lead into a 10-point advantage of its own. UI tied the game at 63 with two minutes to play, but a clutch corner 3-pointer by North Dakota senior Corey Baldwin and solid defense down the stretch helped the top seed advance.

"It's always tough when it comes to an end," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "There was a number of times tonight when we could've thrown in the towel and we made two furious comebacks. I was proud of the way our guys fought.

"If you look back at our season, we were 1-3 to start the league season and our guys showed who they were, what they are all about and how proud they are to be Vandals. It hurts when it comes to an end, no question about it, because our goal was to get to the NCAA Tournament."

On Thursday, North Dakota hit 15 of its first 19 shots and built a 26-point first half in cruising to a 95-72 win over Portland State. In the following quarterfinal, Idaho was the one who shot the lights-out of the Reno Events Center early, drilling 13 of its first 15 shots to build a 13-point lead over Montana.

The Griz chipped all the way back to set up a game-tying final possession. Victor Sanders blocked Walter Wright in the lane to help the fourth-seeded Vandals secure an 81-77 victory to set up Friday's semifinal.

North Dakota looked ready again while Idaho had the roles reversed Friday. But Idaho locked in defensively thereafter, locating UND's shooters. After the 9-of-13 start, North Dakota made just 12 of its next 39 shots, including shooting 34 percent after halftime.

"We did what we've always done: lock down on defense and try to withstand their runs," Idaho forward Jordan Scott said after a nine-point, nine-rebound performance.

Sanders' fourth and final 3-pointer gave Idaho a 48-44 lead with 12:22 left. He had 19 points at that point, 12 in the second half already. He would score just one point after that.

"We are here for a reason, and a basketball game is 40 minutes long, no matter if you come out strong or don't finish strong, it doesn't matter," Sanders said. "Our team kept our composure, we stayed together and we fought all the way back to take the lead. That's a testament to what we believe in and what we stand for."

Idaho's lead swelled to 50-44, its largest of the night, before a flagrant foul call on Arkadiy Mkrtychyan changed the complexion of the game. With UND clinging to a 51-50 lead, officials ruled Mkrtychyan elbowed Baldwin in the face, leading to two Quinton Hooker free throws and possession for UND. Baldwin hit the second of his three 3-pointers for a five-point possession to push the advantage to six with nine minutes to play.

Conner Avants, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half, converted a three-point play to cap UND's 18-1 run that turned a six-point deficit into a 62-51 lead with 7:24 remaining.

Chad Sherwood hit two free throws with two minutes left to tie the game at 63 but Baldwin's third and final 3-pointer, his ninth of this tournament already, pushed the UND advantage to 68-63 with 1:04 remaining to ensure the No. 1 Fighting Hawks survived.

"From the jump, the odds were against us," Sanders said. "Our senior point guard (Perrion Callandret) goes down and I have to take over that position. I told the guys in the locker room, we could've quit at any time, thrown in the towel but we didn't."

Idaho rallied from a 1-3 start in Big Sky play to finish 12-6 and earn a first-round bye in the league tournament. The victory over Montana gives UI 18 wins and the potential to earn an invite to a postseason tournament.

"We've earned it and I'm pretty confident we will be playing somewhere next week," Verlin said.

IDAHO (18-13)

Mkrtychyan 2-8 1-4 5, Scott 4-5 1-2 9, N.Sherwood 1-4 0-0 2, C.Sherwood 1-7 4-4 6, Sanders 7-19 2-4 20, B.Blake 3-9 4-4 10, Blair 1-2 0-0 3, Egbert 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 3-5 0-0 8, Ingram 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 22-60 13-20 64.

NORTH DAKOTA (21-9)

Bernstine 1-4 3-4 5, Avants 5-8 4-6 14, Crandall 5-11 3-6 16, Hooker 4-12 2-4 12, Baldwin 5-9 3-5 16, Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Shanks 0-1 2-2 2, Seales 2-7 0-0 4. Totals 22-52 17-27 69.

Halftime-North Dakota 37-31. 3-Point Goals-Idaho 7-22 (Sanders 4-9, Allen 2-4, Blair 1-2, B.Blake 0-1, N.Sherwood 0-2, C.Sherwood 0-4), North Dakota 8-18 (Crandall 3-6, Baldwin 3-6, Hooker 2-6). Fouled Out-Allen, B.Blake. Rebounds-Idaho 42 (N.Sherwood 12), North Dakota 37 (Bernstine 9). Assists-Idaho 7 (N.Sherwood 2), North Dakota 12 (Crandall, Hooker 5). Total Fouls-Idaho 23, North Dakota 20. Technicals-Mkrtychyan.

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Colter Nuanez is a freelance sports writer who has covered the Big Sky since 2006. He can be reached at Colter.Nuanez@gmail.com.