Mitchell's buzzer-beater helps Vandals stun first-place Northern Colorado
Photo by IDAHO ATHLETICS Kolton Mitchell, right, and teammate Jack Hatten celebrate after Mitchell hit a buzzer-beater to lift Idaho past Northern Colorado on Thursday night at the ICCU Arena in Moscow.
From local reports
MOSCOW -- Kolton Mitchell had plenty of “moments” during a stellar four-year career at Lake City High.
On Thursday night, Mitchell produced his first “moment” as an Idaho Vandal.
Mitchell capped an up-the-floor dash in the final 3.7 seconds with a leaning left, shooting right 30-footer at the buzzer from the left of the circle as Idaho stunned Big Sky Conference-leading Northern Colorado 77-76 before 1,716 at ICCU Arena.
“I just looked up at the clock, to see how much time I had left,” Mitchell said on the Vandals’ postgame radio show. “I knew I wasn’t passing the ball ... I just let it fly. Honestly, I didn’t think it was going in.”
“He provides some deep inner confidence,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said. “He expects to make shots like that.”
Mitchell scored 24 of his game-high 25 points in the second half for Idaho (9-11, 4-3 Big Sky). His step-back 3-pointer with 2:22 left put the Vandals up 69-68 – their first lead since 2-0.
“Coach was telling me to keep being aggressive,” said Mitchell, a redshirt freshman. “The last couple games I hadn’t been shooting the ball well. I’ve been putting in a lot of work on my shot, and doing the other things a point guard does.”
The lead went back and forth until Jaron Rillie made a driving layin to put Northern Colorado (14-6, 6-1) up 76-74 with 3.7 seconds left.
Pribble did not call a timeout, saying afterward he trusted his guys.
“This is a culture win,” Pribble said. “This was about believing if we play the way we’re supposed to play, we can beat anybody.
“This is the most important win we’ve had here,” said Pribble, in his second season at Idaho.
Tyler Linhardt added 17 points for Idaho off the bench. Vandal reserves scored 34 points, and Pribble went to his bench a lot in the second half after Idaho trailed by 10 points at halftime.
Julius Mims, the former North Idaho College standout who missed the morning shootaround dealing with the flu, had 10 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
“Juice is a guy who is going to give whatever he can to the team,” Pribble said.
Langston Reynolds led Northern Colorado with 22 points. Rillie added 19 for the Bears, who led by 13 early in the second half. Northern Colorado had won eight straight.
Idaho plays host to Northern Arizona on Saturday.