Idaho embraces ‘the hard things,’ outlasts Weber State 81-79 in overtime
MOSCOW, Idaho – His body held out, just barely.
Idaho senior Julius Mims, playing with sleeves on both knees, a back support belt and fighting quadriceps cramps, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked two shots and made a steal in his final home game.
Even more valuable, according to coach Alex Pribble, Idaho’s standout forward drew enough defensive attention to allow his teammates to get free as Idaho turned back Weber State 81-79 in overtime at ICCU Arena.
“(Mims) played 38 minutes,” Pribble said. “He was fighting through cramps. Fighting through fatigue.”
Fighting alongside Mims, Idaho’s Tyler Mruss scored 22 points, Kolton Mitchell and Kristian Gonzalez had 18 apiece and Jack Payne added 11.
“It was up and down the whole game, but I knew we were going to pull it off,” Mims said.
It’s a feeling Mitchell must have shared, Pribble said.
“Kolton has deep inner confidence,” he said.
None of Idaho’s points was more impactful than the four Mitchell scored 25 seconds into overtime when he was fouled by Weber State’s Trevor Hennig while sinking a 3-pointer. Mitchell also collected the free throw to give the Vandals a quick 76-72 lead in the extra period.
Hennig made up for his mistake for the Wildcats with a layup to tie the score at 78.
But the Vandals kept their confidence.
Mitchell leaped to grab a long rebound off Payne’s missed 3-point attempt and passed to Mrus, who hit a 3-pointer with just over a minute to play to give the Vandals a lead that stuck.
Weber State’s Blaise Threatt, the game’s leading scorer with 32 points, ducked inside Mitchell’s defense and drew a foul with 5.8 seconds remaining.
He hit the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to 81-79, and he intentionally banked the second shot off the back iron to create a rebound that resulted in a tussle on the floor.
Mitchell and Mrus tangled with Nigel Burris, who won Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year honors while playing for Idaho in the 2022-23 season.
The current Vandals prevailed, as Mrus gained possession and ran the clock out.
The win improved Idaho to 13-17 overall, 8-9 in the Big Sky with one game remaining at Montana State on Monday.
Weber State fell to 11-20, 5-12.
The Wildcats’ gameplan to slide a second defender to help cover Mims when he rolled to the rim held him to six points, but they were unable to keep him off the boards.
The extra defensive attention opened up Idaho’s perimeter game. The Vandals finished 15 of 38 on 3-point attempts. Mrus was 6 of 13 , Mitchell 4 of 8, Gonzalez 3 of 7 and Payne 2 of 7.
“I was really proud of these guys,” Pribble said, praising his team for “embracing the hard things,” a point of emphasis this season.
“Tonight was the epitome of that,” he said.
Mims, Kyson Rose and Jack Hatten were all honored for Senior Day. Pribble also gave a nod to the 2,262 in attendance who came out to celebrate the seniors and saw an eventful game.
“That’s what we play for. These moments,” Mims said.
Women
Idaho 73, Weber State 58: Hope Hassmann scored 21 points and added seven assists to lead the Vandals (18-10, 10-7 Big Sky) to a wire-to-wire win over the Wildcats (12-15, 9-8) at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
Idaho’s Arthur Moreira broke Tara Vanderveer’s program record for most wins in first year as head coach.
Idaho swept the season series against Weber State, clinching the No. 3 seed for the Big Sky Tournament in Boise. The Vandals close the regular season at home against Montana State on Monday.