Julius Mims, Tyler Mrus score 21 points each in Idaho’s blowout of Evergreen State 101-58

MOSCOW, Idaho – It took Julius “Juice” Mims getting undercut on one of his signature jams off a lob to ignite Idaho’s balky offense.

But the Vandals (2-3) were hot from there in dispatching Evergreen State College 101-58 in nonconference play Tuesday.

Mims and Tyler Mrus led Idaho with 21 points apiece, and Mrus was 6 for 8 on 3-pointers.

But Mims, who scored 15 points in the first half, got 12 of them, plus a block and a steal, after getting undercut by Nathan Behr with the Vandals trailing 14-13. Behr was called for a flagrant foul, and Mims’ basket and free throw gave the Vandals a 16-14 lead they improved to 46-30 at the half.

They got rolling during a 55-28 second half and handled the Geoducks (0-4).

“It is what it is,” Mims said. “We needed that little spark to get us going.”

Mims, Mrus and Idaho coach Alex Pribble, though, were in agreement that the most useful thing the Vandals took from the game was taking ownership in raising their standard of play.

“We need to hold ourselves accountable,” Mims said. “Coming out for the second half, we got on each other. It was totally unacceptable how we were playing in the first half. … We should come into every game like we are playing BYU or Washington State.”

“Like ‘Juice’ said, it took us holding each other accountable to make that run in the second half,” Mrus said.

“Down the line, we want this to be a player-led program,” Pribble said.

So far, the players are looking to coaches to lead and to build the team identity, Pribble said.

“We are making strides in that area,” he said. “It takes time.”

Idaho did not put its complete team on the floor as Takai Hardy and Tyler Linhardt continue to recover from injuries that are not expected to be season-ending. Kristian Gonzalez was given the day off as “maintenance,” to deal with overuse issues, Pribble said.

But the 12 players who got in the game all had something to offer. Jayden Stevens contributed 13 points, Kolton Mitchell 10 and Jack Payne 7 to go with his team-leading 10 rebounds. Pribble also pointed to Jack Hatten, whose line in the box score was only a single rebound. But the nearly eight minutes he played in the second half helped set the tone as the Vandals ran away from the Geoducks.

Titus Yearout, who drove the lane with 30 seconds remaining and left a pass for Ewan Steele to finish got the Vandals to 100 points, and Steele knocked down an additional free throw to conclude the scoring.

“Everybody impacts winning in different ways. When their number is called, they are going to help us compete,” Pribble said of Idaho’s reserves.

Mrus added “these guys work just as hard as us. A lot of people don’t see the work they put in.”

Watching from the bench, their evening’s work done, he and Mims were rooting for their teammates to reach the century mark.

“Absolutely,” Mrus said.

Solomon Campbell led Evergreen State with 17 points, and Bradley Graham and Tyler No added 10 apiece.