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Mar. 9—BOISE — Starch Madness is truly mad.
The Idaho Vandals men's basketball team completed what many could reasonably doubt: a No. 7 seed knocked off a No. 2 seed.
The Vandals defeated the Montana State Bobcats 78-74 in the second round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Sunday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
Idaho coach Alex Pribble said that the ability to stay strong through tough moments assisted the win. He also said it helped when the Idaho fans in the building got loud during the final minutes.
"And I think to be able to be mentally tough enough to withstand some of their runs, and then physically tough enough to kind of dominate the paint the way we did, that's the identity that we're trying to create," Pribble said. "Just very grateful for all the Idaho fans that were in the building. When the game got tight and (we were) kind of making our run, we could feel the energy in the building. This felt like a home game during that stretch."
How the Vandals won the game
The first half was a pretty equal contest, when Montana State would drill a 3-pointer, Idaho would respond with one of its own. When the Bobcats would hit a layup or a jumper, again the Vandals responded.
The biggest lead anyone had in the first half was when Montana State had a five-point lead at 15-10 with 13:14 to go in the period. But Idaho cut that lead with a six-point run — the biggest run they had all game — off a Kolton Mitchell layup, a Miles Klapper jumper and a Trevon Blassingame second-chance layup.
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Ultimately, the Bobcats led 40-36 at halftime.
Montana State led for the first six minutes of the second half, although Idaho was always in striking range, within at least six points for the final 19 minutes.
The Vandals took the lead, powered by a layup from Miles Klapper and Jackson Rasmussen and then a Trevon Blassingame 3-pointer to make it 49-48 with 13:55 to go in regulation.
Montana State then led or the game was tied until 5:02 left in the half when the Vandals took their final lead from an Isaiah Brickner driving layup at 63-61.
Pribble said it was a few minutes before that when he felt a momentum shift.
"There's a stretch coming out of the timeout. I'll say it was right around the eight-minute mark," Pribble said. "We got the ball inside to Jackson (Rasmussen) swung the ball around the perimeter, and Isaiah (Brickner) drove right to the rim and finished big bucket right at the rim. I was like, 'Ok, that's the style we've been talking about playing.' I thought for the remainder of the game we executed extremely well."
He also gave credit to the team for playing excellent on defense late in the game, being disciplined against a Bobcats team that loves to shoot 3-pointers and not allowing Montana State to create too much separation.
Montana State stayed within six points and at the 1:40 mark, Patrick McMahon drove in for a layup and put the Bobcats within two at 68-66.
Biko Johnson answered big.
He nailed a step-back 3-pointer with 1:11 left in regulation to put the Vandals up 71-66.
That was the dagger.
Johnson said getting work in the "ones" drills in practice helped him create the separation and drill the 3.
"I just felt confident in myself and my work I put in," Johnson said.
Multiple fouls by Montana State and Idaho ended the game hitting free throws.
Notable stats and player performances
Johnson led the Vandals with 19 points. He shot 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from the free-throw line and 1-of-5 from 3 — although that one 3 was the biggest shot of the game.
Johnson also grabbed five rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
Isaiah Brickner didn't score a single point in the first half. In the final 20 minutes, he came out firing and ended with 15 points. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Jackson Rasmussen totaled 11 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Miles Klapper also scored 11, but off the bench. He shot 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line.
The Vandals outscored Montana State 23-5 off the bench and outscored them 54-26 in the paint.
Pribble said some of the bench players were very important to the win with some injuries lingering on the roster.
"I thought Miles Klapper was fantastic tonight, I thought he did a really good job," Pribble said. "There's a big stretch in the game where he came down and got to the rim aggressively two times in a row, and just kind of gave us one more weapon.
"Seth (Joba) has been really good in this tournament. He's made some big plays around the rim. Yesterday, he made some big shots, he defends the rim very well. And then I think Tre Blassingame just continues to be extremely solid for us."
Pribble said that Blassingame is one of if not the best perimeter defender on the team and that he is playing his role "exceptionally."
"And that's what it's about," Pribble said. "These guys are playing selfless basketball, they're going to do whatever they need to help the team win. I think a lot of guys off the bench did that tonight."
A program is being built and what's next for the Vandals
Each year in the three years that Alex Pribble has been the head coach of the Idaho Vandals, they have seen improvement. Going from 11-21 in 2023-24, to 14-19 in 2024-25 to 19-14 so far in 2025-26.
The Vandals also have gone to the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals for the second straight year, the first time that has happened since the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
"Look, this program is being built, it's not being bought," Pribble said. "That's what this is about. It's built through character. It's built through hard work. It's built through, trust and experiences together. ... It's the job that our great administration hired us to do here, is to build something that's based on character and toughness, and that's going to lead to long-standing success. And I think that happens incrementally."
He said it's not about flipping the roster every year, but building an extremely solid foundation.
"I don't think we're at the peak. I think we're going to just keep taking steps forward and the culture and the character of these young men is really showing right now. That's what we're trying to build."
Idaho will now try to refresh with its strength and conditioning coaches. They will do what they've done in the later part of the season, yoga and breath exercises, to get physically and mentally recharged.
Now the Vandals will play the winner of Eastern Washington and Weber State, which is being played at 7 p.m. Pacific today.
Idaho's game against the winner of that game will take place at 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
IDAHO (19-14)
Rasmussen 5-7 0-0 11, Rowbury 3-4 0-2 6, Brickner 6-11 3-5 15, Johnson 7-12 4-5 19, Mitchell 1-6 2-2 4, Klapper 4-6 3-4 11, Blassingame 3-3 0-0 8, Joba 1-4 0-0 2, Payne 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-55 12-18 78.
MONTANA STATE (18-14)
Hodges 0-3 0-0 0, King 9-13 0-0 21, Davis 9-10 0-0 22, McMahon 3-12 1-2 8, Miller 6-15 4-5 18, Keene 1-2 0-0 3, Steppe 1-7 0-2 2, Amunrud 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 5-9 74.
Halftime — Montana State 40-36. 3-Point Goals — Idaho 4-16 (Blassingame 2-2, Rasmussen 1-1, Johnson 1-5, Klapper 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Payne 0-1, Rowbury 0-1, Brickner 0-2, Joba 0-2), Montana State 11-24 (Davis 4-5, King 3-5, Miller 2-7, Keene 1-2, McMahon 1-2, Steppe 0-3). Fouled Out — Keene. Rebounds — Idaho 28 (Brickner 7), Montana State 28 (Davis 6). Assists — Idaho 9 (Johnson 4), Montana State 12 (Steppe 4). Total Fouls — Idaho 9, Montana State 18.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
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The Idaho Vandals men's basketball team completed what many could reasonably doubt: a No. 7 seed knocked off a No. 2 seed.
The Vandals defeated the Montana State Bobcats 78-74 in the second round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Sunday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
Idaho coach Alex Pribble said that the ability to stay strong through tough moments assisted the win. He also said it helped when the Idaho fans in the building got loud during the final minutes.
"And I think to be able to be mentally tough enough to withstand some of their runs, and then physically tough enough to kind of dominate the paint the way we did, that's the identity that we're trying to create," Pribble said. "Just very grateful for all the Idaho fans that were in the building. When the game got tight and (we were) kind of making our run, we could feel the energy in the building. This felt like a home game during that stretch."
How the Vandals won the game
The first half was a pretty equal contest, when Montana State would drill a 3-pointer, Idaho would respond with one of its own. When the Bobcats would hit a layup or a jumper, again the Vandals responded.
The biggest lead anyone had in the first half was when Montana State had a five-point lead at 15-10 with 13:14 to go in the period. But Idaho cut that lead with a six-point run — the biggest run they had all game — off a Kolton Mitchell layup, a Miles Klapper jumper and a Trevon Blassingame second-chance layup.
Advertisement
Ultimately, the Bobcats led 40-36 at halftime.
Montana State led for the first six minutes of the second half, although Idaho was always in striking range, within at least six points for the final 19 minutes.
The Vandals took the lead, powered by a layup from Miles Klapper and Jackson Rasmussen and then a Trevon Blassingame 3-pointer to make it 49-48 with 13:55 to go in regulation.
Montana State then led or the game was tied until 5:02 left in the half when the Vandals took their final lead from an Isaiah Brickner driving layup at 63-61.
Pribble said it was a few minutes before that when he felt a momentum shift.
"There's a stretch coming out of the timeout. I'll say it was right around the eight-minute mark," Pribble said. "We got the ball inside to Jackson (Rasmussen) swung the ball around the perimeter, and Isaiah (Brickner) drove right to the rim and finished big bucket right at the rim. I was like, 'Ok, that's the style we've been talking about playing.' I thought for the remainder of the game we executed extremely well."
He also gave credit to the team for playing excellent on defense late in the game, being disciplined against a Bobcats team that loves to shoot 3-pointers and not allowing Montana State to create too much separation.
Montana State stayed within six points and at the 1:40 mark, Patrick McMahon drove in for a layup and put the Bobcats within two at 68-66.
Biko Johnson answered big.
He nailed a step-back 3-pointer with 1:11 left in regulation to put the Vandals up 71-66.
That was the dagger.
Johnson said getting work in the "ones" drills in practice helped him create the separation and drill the 3.
"I just felt confident in myself and my work I put in," Johnson said.
Multiple fouls by Montana State and Idaho ended the game hitting free throws.
Notable stats and player performances
Johnson led the Vandals with 19 points. He shot 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from the free-throw line and 1-of-5 from 3 — although that one 3 was the biggest shot of the game.
Johnson also grabbed five rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
Isaiah Brickner didn't score a single point in the first half. In the final 20 minutes, he came out firing and ended with 15 points. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Jackson Rasmussen totaled 11 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Miles Klapper also scored 11, but off the bench. He shot 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line.
The Vandals outscored Montana State 23-5 off the bench and outscored them 54-26 in the paint.
Pribble said some of the bench players were very important to the win with some injuries lingering on the roster.
"I thought Miles Klapper was fantastic tonight, I thought he did a really good job," Pribble said. "There's a big stretch in the game where he came down and got to the rim aggressively two times in a row, and just kind of gave us one more weapon.
"Seth (Joba) has been really good in this tournament. He's made some big plays around the rim. Yesterday, he made some big shots, he defends the rim very well. And then I think Tre Blassingame just continues to be extremely solid for us."
Pribble said that Blassingame is one of if not the best perimeter defender on the team and that he is playing his role "exceptionally."
"And that's what it's about," Pribble said. "These guys are playing selfless basketball, they're going to do whatever they need to help the team win. I think a lot of guys off the bench did that tonight."
A program is being built and what's next for the Vandals
Each year in the three years that Alex Pribble has been the head coach of the Idaho Vandals, they have seen improvement. Going from 11-21 in 2023-24, to 14-19 in 2024-25 to 19-14 so far in 2025-26.
The Vandals also have gone to the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals for the second straight year, the first time that has happened since the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
"Look, this program is being built, it's not being bought," Pribble said. "That's what this is about. It's built through character. It's built through hard work. It's built through, trust and experiences together. ... It's the job that our great administration hired us to do here, is to build something that's based on character and toughness, and that's going to lead to long-standing success. And I think that happens incrementally."
He said it's not about flipping the roster every year, but building an extremely solid foundation.
"I don't think we're at the peak. I think we're going to just keep taking steps forward and the culture and the character of these young men is really showing right now. That's what we're trying to build."
Idaho will now try to refresh with its strength and conditioning coaches. They will do what they've done in the later part of the season, yoga and breath exercises, to get physically and mentally recharged.
Now the Vandals will play the winner of Eastern Washington and Weber State, which is being played at 7 p.m. Pacific today.
Idaho's game against the winner of that game will take place at 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
IDAHO (19-14)
Rasmussen 5-7 0-0 11, Rowbury 3-4 0-2 6, Brickner 6-11 3-5 15, Johnson 7-12 4-5 19, Mitchell 1-6 2-2 4, Klapper 4-6 3-4 11, Blassingame 3-3 0-0 8, Joba 1-4 0-0 2, Payne 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-55 12-18 78.
MONTANA STATE (18-14)
Hodges 0-3 0-0 0, King 9-13 0-0 21, Davis 9-10 0-0 22, McMahon 3-12 1-2 8, Miller 6-15 4-5 18, Keene 1-2 0-0 3, Steppe 1-7 0-2 2, Amunrud 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 5-9 74.
Halftime — Montana State 40-36. 3-Point Goals — Idaho 4-16 (Blassingame 2-2, Rasmussen 1-1, Johnson 1-5, Klapper 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Payne 0-1, Rowbury 0-1, Brickner 0-2, Joba 0-2), Montana State 11-24 (Davis 4-5, King 3-5, Miller 2-7, Keene 1-2, McMahon 1-2, Steppe 0-3). Fouled Out — Keene. Rebounds — Idaho 28 (Brickner 7), Montana State 28 (Davis 6). Assists — Idaho 9 (Johnson 4), Montana State 12 (Steppe 4). Total Fouls — Idaho 9, Montana State 18.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
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