Idaho’s Kolton Mitchell is healthy now, or healthy enough to be the driving force that put the Vandals to the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship.
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After dealing with a back injury that kept him out late in the regular season, Mitchell scored 26 points in 37 minutes of play as the No. 7 seed Idaho Vandals defeated the No. 3 seed Eastern Washington Eagles 81-68 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals Tuesday night at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.
The Coeur d’Alene sophomore point guard dribbled the final seconds of the game, waved to the crowd to start chanting and after the final buzzer, slapped the Idaho sticker on the championship spot on the Starch Madness big board.
Idaho is headed to the Big Sky championship game for the first time since 1993, when it played Boise State. The last conference tournament championship the Vandals attended was in 2014, while Idaho was in the Western Athletic Conference.
How did it develop?
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The Vandals fumbled the start and then stole the ball off a bad pass by former Lewis-Clark State and current Eastern Washington forward Alton Hamilton, leading to a fastbreak layup for Idaho’s Isaiah Brickner. Idaho led for most of the first half, except for a 5-4 Eagles lead with 17 minutes, 22 seconds left in the period.
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Idaho went on a 9-0 run from 16:01 to 14:08 remaining in the half.
The run was sparked by a jumper by Idaho guard Biko Johnson, followed by a step-back jumper by Mitchell, then a layup by Brickner and a step-back 3-pointer by Mitchell.
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The Vandals led 17-7 at the time.
Idaho then took its largest lead of the game at 23-10 with 11:58 left in the half.
Eastern Washington would fight back, but with both teams on the bonus and eventually the double bonus late, it was a free throw party near the end of the half.
Idaho was 8 of 14 from the line, and Eastern Washington was 8 of 13 in the half and Mitchell totaled 10 points in the first half.
The Vandals held the lead throughout the second half, although the Eagles got within three points with 11:43 left.
With 7:57 left in regulation, Biko Johnson had a traditional three-point play with a spinning layup and a free throw to put the Vandals up 61-50.
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Mitchell came out firing in the second half. He hit a deep 3-pointer to give the Vandals a 13-point lead at 66-53 with 6:33 left in the half.
Jackson Rasmussen hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Vandals a 69-58 lead with 5:01 left in regulation. He then hit another from the right wing to make it 72-60 with 3:15 left, following a jumper by Eastern Washington’s Kiree Huie.
Near the end of the game, the Vandals closed out the contest with free throws.
Mitchell made the final two free throws to end the game.
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Mitchell was huge for the Vandals offensively on Tuesday. He shot 9 of 15 from the field, 3 of 7 from the 3-point line and was 5 of 5 from the free throw line. He also had team highs in rebounds (7) and assists (3).
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Rassmussen totaled 16 points for the Vandals. He hit two big 3-pointers late to contribute to the win.
Rasmussen shot 6 of 9 from the field and scored 3 of 3 from long range. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Johnson added 11 points for the Vandals. He shot 5 of 7 from the line, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.
Brickner was the other vandal in double figures, with 10 points. He shot 4 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line.
What’s next?
Idaho advances to the Big Sky Conference Tournament final for the first time since 1993, and the first time in any conference tournament championship since 2014.
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The Vandals will play the #6 Montana Grizzlies today at 8:30 pm Pacific Time at Idaho Central Arena. The championship will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Idaho (20-14)
Rasmussen 6-9 1-5 16, Rowbury 1-1 0-3 2, Brickner 4-8 2-2 10, Johnson 3-10 5-7 11, Mitchell 9-15 5-5 26, Blassingame 1-4 0-0 2, Payne 2-4 4-4 9, Joba 1-1 3-3 5, Klapper 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 20-29 81.
EAST WASHINGTON (14-19)
Hamilton 4-6 2-2 10, Huie 9-17 2-6 20, Moses 3-12 4-4 10, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Scherer 1-5 0-0 3, Anderson 4-11 3-6 12, Rogers 1-2 6-8 8, Radford 0-2 2-2 2, Marquardt 0-2 0-0 0, Tomás 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 23-62 19-28 68.
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Halftime – Idaho 36-28. 3-point goals: Idaho 7-21 (Rasmussen 3-3, Mitchell 3-7, Payne 1-3, Brickner 0-1, Blassingame 0-3, Johnson 0-4), Eastern Washington 3-20 (Anderson 1-4, Scherer 1-4, Thomas 1-4, Hamilton 0-1, Powell 0-1, Radford 0-1, Marquardt 0-2, Moses 0-3). Eliminated for foul: Rowbury, Moses, Rogers. Rebounds: Idaho 28 (Mitchell 7), Eastern Washington 33 (Hamilton, Huie 7). Assists: Idaho 8 (Mitchell 3), Eastern Washington 10 (Moses 6). Total fouls: Idaho 22, Eastern Washington 23.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or at X @TrevorJunt.