COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL: Vandals battle back, but fall short to Griz
Photo courtesy of IDAHO MEDIA RELATIONS Idaho forward Ja'Vary Christmas dribbles down the floor during the Vandals opening round game against Montana on Wednesday in Boise.
From wire and news services
BOISE — Josh Vazquez had a career-high 21 points as sixth-seeded Montana narrowly beat 11th-seed Idaho 69-64 in the first round of the Big Sky Conference tourney on Wednesday.
Brandon Whitney had 13 points for Montana (14-12), which will play third-seeded Weber State in the quarterfinals. Robby Beasley III added 12 points. Vazques hit five 3-pointers.
“I want to congratulate Travis and his program,” Idaho coach Zac Claus said. “Montana is a well-respected, always ready to go program that plays that hard night in and night out. There’s a reason why their program plays for titles year in, and year out. That program has improved a lot over the past two months.”
The 11-seeded Vandals started the game hot, taking an early 11-2 lead. The Griz came back to tie things up, and after a Ja’Vary Christmas layup, Montana scored 10 unanswered to take an 11-point lead of its own. A three-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Chance Garvin made the score 38-30 in favor of the Griz entering the break.
Montana slowly pushed their advantage out in the second half, leading by 15, 60-45, with just under eight minutes to play. However, the Vandals would not go away easily. The defense held UM without a field goal in the final eight minutes, while the offense was able to close to within three points, 65-62, when DeAndre Robinson made a driving layup with 31 seconds to play. However, the Griz were able to knock down their foul shots to secure the 69-64 victory and move on in the tournament.
“They just converted from the free throw line,” Claus said. “There’s a reason why they’re so effective in that way. To their credit, they hit some big shots down the stretch.”
Scott Blakney had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Vandals (1-21). Chance Garvin added 12 points. DeAndre Robinson had 10 points.
“I thought our kids competed down the stretch,” Claus said. “They could have thrown in the towel when we were down 18, but we kept competing. They kept sitting down in a stance and did a good job of limiting them to one shot.”