Vandals rally past last-place Sac State

From local reports 

MOSCOW — Trailing by 11 points late in the first half, the Idaho Vandals put together a strong second half to edge the last-place Sacramento State Hornets 78-76 in Big Sky Conference men’s basketball Saturday afternoon before 1,972 at the ICCU Arena. 

Reserve Tyler Linhardt hit two free throws with 13.6 seconds left to give Idaho (11-14, 6-6 Big Sky) a 77-76 lead. 

After Julian Vaughns of Sacramento State (6-18, 2-9) missed a stepback jumper from the left baseline, Linhardt rebounded, was fouled and sank 1 of 2 free throws with 3.2 seconds left. 

Sac State missed a half-court shot at the horn. 

“Learning how to win ugly is a big part of this team’s growth,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said on the postgame radio show. The rhythm of this team is a bit off. We're searching for a rhythm, and despite that, found a way to win.” 

Idaho was coming off a home loss to Portland State on Thursday.

Linhardt finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals, and was 10 of 14 from the free-throw line.  

Jack Payne scored 21 points, including 14 of 15 from the line. He also had six rebounds, and the Vandals were 32 of 41 from the line. 

Both had to step up on the boards as starting big man Julius Mims, the former North Idaho College star, picked up three first-half fouls and played just seven minutes, and the other big, Kyson Rose, missed the game due to injury. 

Linhardt was fantastic tonight, as was Jack Payne,” Pribble said. “Even though things weren’t going great, we stuck together.” 

Vaughns and Chudy Dioramma scored 19 points each for Sacramento State, which shot 30 of 54 (55.6%) from the field. 

Idaho shot 19 of 54 (35.2%) from the field.  

The Hornets made 6 of 11 3s in the first half, but just 1 of 10 in the second half. 

Kolton Mitchell, a redshirt freshman from Lake City High, had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds for Idaho. He fed Kristian Gonzalez for a 3-pointer from the left baseline and a 75-74 Idaho lead with just over a minute remaining. 

Dioramma’s layup put the Hornets up 76-75 with 56 seconds left. But he was whistled for a rebound foul on Sac State’s next possession, leading to Linhardt’s go-ahead free throws. 

Idaho returns to action Saturday at Eastern Washington.

Idaho 78, Sacramento St. 76  

SACRAMENTO ST. (6-18)  

Holt 1-4 2-3 4, Brewer 5-7 0-0 13, Neal 2-7 1-2 6, Nunn 2-3 2-2 6, Vaughns 7-12 2-5 19, Dioramma 9-9 1-1 19, Ricketts 1-4 0-1 2, Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Skytta 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 30-54 9-16 76.  

IDAHO (11-14)  

Mims 1-2 0-0 2, Mrus 5-15 2-4 17, Gonzalez 2-6 2-2 8, Mitchell 4-10 2-2 10, Payne 3-7 14-15 21, Linhardt 3-11 10-14 16, Hardy 1-3 1-2 3, Brickner 0-0 1-2 1, Yearout 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 32-41 78.  

Halftime_Sacramento St. 47-39. 3-Point Goals_Sacramento St. 7-21 (Brewer 3-5, Vaughns 3-5, Neal 1-5, Holt 0-1, Nunn 0-1, Skytta 0-1, Ricketts 0-3), Idaho 8-30 (Mrus 5-12, Gonzalez 2-5, Payne 1-3, Linhardt 0-5, Mitchell 0-5). Fouled Out_Skytta. Rebounds_Sacramento St. 32 (Brewer 7), Idaho 24 (Payne, Linhardt 6). Assists_Sacramento St. 10 (Nunn 3), Idaho 9 (Mitchell 5). Total Fouls_Sacramento St. 28, Idaho 16. A_1,972 (4,200).