UI runs out of gas, time

Jan. 29—This year's first installment of the in-state men's basketball rivalry between Idaho and Idaho State needed extra time Saturday.

Thanks to a Divant'e Moffitt layup with four seconds remaining, the Vandals forced overtime with the Bengals in a Big Sky Conference game at Idaho Central Credit Union Arena in Moscow.

But it was Idaho State, which got some timely points from Maleek Arington in the final 25 seconds, ultimately prevailing 95-91.

"This one was obviously disappointing," Idaho coach Zac Claus said. "But it's part of the game and (Idaho State) did a good job of fighting to make a positive play at the end."

Here's what we learned:

Arington and McKenzie come up big

Arington converted what ultimately would be the game-winning free throws with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, but he could've ended things during regulation.

After Moffitt's layup tied it at 81, the Bengals (8-14, 5-4) took a timeout to dial up a play that turned out to be similar to what Idaho (8-15, 2-8) had just done.

Brock Mackenzie inbounded the ball to Arington, who went the length of the floor uncontested. He had a good look at the basket but couldn't get the shot to fall.

Mackenzie then stepped up in the extra period, scoring four points in showing off his basketball IQ.

With the Vandals up 85-83, Mackenzie shot a deep 3 that went off the back iron. He rebounded his miss as he fell to the floor. As he got possession of the ball, he called a timeout, knowing the possession arrow favored Idaho in a jump ball situation.

Mackenzie finished with a season-high 30 points and was tasked with stepping up after junior center Brayden Parker fouled out to start the fourth quarter. Mackenzie scored 20 second-half points.

"He had a hell of a game," Claus said. "He was so aggressive, especially late. I thought he did a fantastic job getting to his spot and knocking down shots when they needed them."

Best free-throw performance of the year

Idaho had "struggled" at the free-throw line, going 44-of-61 (72.1%) the past three games.

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In this one, the Vandals were 29-of-32 from the line (90.6%). Isaac Jones was aggressive for the better part of the game, making all 13 of his attempts in scoring a team-high 27 points. He benefited from the absence of Idaho State's big men in the second half. After Parker fouled out, Jones managed to work Kolby Lee out of the game as well. It forced the much slimmer Jay Nagle to cover Jones.

Unfortunately for Jones, Nagle found a way to get some calls on Jones, and the junior forward fouled out with 2:17 to go in the contest.

"We were able to get enough timely stops towards the end of regulation," Claus said. "We wanted to create contact and get to the free-throw line, and we were able to knock them down."

Moffitt turned things around

Moffitt was 0-for-2 from the field and had just one point in the first 20 minutes.

The Vandals made it a point of emphasis in the locker room to give their second-leading scorer the ball. He scored 22 of his 23 points in the second half and overtime. He hit two 3-pointers, his biggest coming with 1:44 remaining in overtime.

The Bengals had taken an 87-85 advantage after a short jumper from Mackenzie at the top of the key.

The senior guard took the inbounds from Trey Smith and got into the frontcourt, where he hit a step-back 3 in the corner to give the Vandals their last lead of the game at 88-87.

IDAHO ST. (8-14, 5-4)

Nagle 2-5 0-0 5, Parker 8-14 0-0 16, Mackenzie 11-19 5-5 30, Smellie 4-5 0-1 11, Tomley 4-8 0-0 10, Arington 2-5 5-6 9, Carr 0-0 2-4 2, Lee 4-6 0-0 8, Burgin 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 36-64 14-18 95.

IDAHO (8-15, 2-8)

Burris 2-3 2-2 7, Jones 7-14 13-13 27, Ford 4-6 0-0 9, Moffitt 7-15 7-9 23, Salih 1-5 3-4 6, T.Smith 4-8 2-2 13, R.Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Harge 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 27-53 29-32 91.

Halftime: Idaho, 37-36. End of regulation: Tied at 81. 3-Point Goals: Idaho St. 9-20 (Smellie 3-3, Mackenzie 3-8, Tomley 2-4, Nagle 1-3, Arington 0-1, Parker 0-1), Idaho 8-22 (T.Smith 3-6, Moffitt 2-6, Burris 1-2, Ford 1-3, Salih 1-4, Jones 0-1). Fouled Out: Parker, Carr, Lee, Jones, R.Smith. Rebounds: Idaho St. 30 (Nagle, Parker 5), Idaho 24 (Jones 14). Assists: Idaho St. 13 (Nagle, Tomley 3), Idaho 10 (Moffitt 5). Total Fouls: Idaho St. 25, Idaho 23. A: 2,397 (4,200).

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.