The final score doesn’t do justice to how hard the Vandals (1-3) fought the Brigham Young University Cougars (4-0) through the first 25 minutes of Saturday’s game. Idaho led by as much as seven in the first half. BYU eventually regained their footing and took the victory, 95-71 to remain unbeaten.
Idaho’s offense was throwing haymakers the entire first half, never allowing BYU to take control and leading for the majority of the half. Whenever it seemed that BYU might be settling in, Idaho answered with a three to maintain their momentum.
Though fans may not have expected it entering the matchup, the Vandals quieted the infamous Marriot Center for half of the game.
Though a loss is never the goal, Idaho continues to develop its offense into a three-point shooting machine. The team went 12-21 from beyond the arc, while BYU went just 10-26. BYU also struggled at the charity stripe, missing 11 free throws.
Tyler Mrus had a day offensively, making four three-pointers and drawing a handful of fouls along the way. He finished with a team-high of 17 points. Julius “Juice” Mims was also productive in the loss, scoring 14 points and snagging six rebounds.
Fousseyni Traore could not be contained, scoring 29 points and finishing 11-12 on field goals. He also had nine rebounds. Freshman Egor Demin from Moscow, Russia, finished with 16 points, seven assists, three steals, three blocks and two rebounds.
Richie Saunders was arguably the most productive player for BYU, finishing with 26 points, four rebounds, three assists, four steals and three blocks.
Idaho continues to show improvement as they move through nonconference play. They will play next on Nov. 19 at home against Evergreen at 6 p.m.
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected]