Tyler Linhardt’s 25 points lead Idaho to win at Northern Arizona 83-78
From staff reports
The Idaho men’s basketball team withstood Northern Arizona’s second-half rally to secure an 83-78 victory Thursday at Findlay Toyota Court in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Junior Tyler Linhardt scored a career-high 25 points off the bench for the Vandals, who reached .500 in Big Sky play (7-7) and improved to 12-15 overall with the victory.
The Vandals shot 50% overall and made 17 of 19 free throws as a lead that was once as great as 24 points shrank to three when Trent McLaughlin drained a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left. That capped a 14-4 run by the Lumberjacks that trimmed Idaho’s lead to 79-76.
NAU forced a turnover on the inbound pass, but Jayden Jackson missed a free throw, and Idaho made enough free throws from there to close out its victory.
McLaughlin, the Big Sky’s leading scorer, finished with 35 points and made 10 of 18 shots from the field, including 7 of 11 3-pointers. Junior Ryan Abelman added 12 points for NAU (15-13, 6-9 Big Sky).
Idaho also got 14 points from freshman Kolton Mitchell and sophomore Kristian Gonzalez. Sophomore Jack Payne added 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Vandals will play at Northern Colorado (20-8, 12-3) on Saturday.
Women
Northern Arizona 70, Idaho 65: The Lumberjacks (22-6, 13-2 Big Sky) clinched a top-two seed in the Big Sky Tournament by defeating the third-place Vandals (16-9, 8-6) in Moscow, Idaho.
Leia Beattie made 6 of 9 shots from the field, including 5 of 6 3-pointers, and scored a game-high 21 points for NAU, which trails only Montana State (24-2, 14-0) in the Big Sky standings.
Idaho led 34-28 at halftime but trailed 49-47 heading into the fourth quarter. The Vandals kept within two possessions until Taylor Feldman’s 3-pointer with 1:29 left gave the Lumberjacks a 67-60 lead.
Anja Bukvic led the Vandals with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field; Hope Hassmann added 13 points but made just 4 of 20 shots.
NAU finished 9 of 22 from 3-point range; Idaho made 3 of 21 3-point attempts.
Idaho hosts Northern Colorado (13-13, 6-9) on Saturday.