NO. 10 SACRAMENTO STATE 72, NO. 9 IDAHO 64
Continuing the theme from the women’s games earlier in the afternoon, one head coach in Saturday’s evening game was guaranteed to pick up his first win in the Big Sky tournament.
In the end, it’s was Sac State’s second-year head man David Patrick beating Idaho rookie coach Alex Pribble as the Hornets locked down defensively in the second half and got a career night from senior Akol Mawein to advance.
“It’s massive. It’s massive just to win a game in the conference tournament,” Patrick said. “That first one is hard to get. It’s hard to describe to these guys what a conference tournament feels like. These guys haven’t been here, so for these young guys to go through it, to get through it, it’s major.”
Sacramento State led 32-29 at halftime before Idaho came back to take a one-point lead multiple times in the second half. But between D’Angelo Minnis’ 3-pointer with 13:49 left and Kyson Rose’s layup with 4:02 left, the Vandals managed nine points and just one field goal that wasn’t a dunk by Julius Mims.
Mawein, who scored a career-high 25 points, hit six straight free throws with under four minutes to go to ice it.
It was the first tournament win for Patrick, who took the Hornets to 14 wins last season but lost to Weber State in the first round.
Bailey Nunn added 14 points for Sacramento State. Mims, who went 9 of 11 from the field, had 20 points and seven rebounds for Idaho.
NO. 8 IDAHO STATE 68, NO. 7 NORTHERN ARIZONA 60
In the nightcap of the Big Sky tournament’s opening day, Idaho State rolled up 42 second-half points to beat Northern Arizona and advance to play No. 2 Northern Colorado.
Down 28-26 at halftime, the Bengals burst out of the gates in the second half with seven straight points from Miguel Tomley.
Maleek Arington and Brayden Parker took turns carrying Idaho State from there. Parker led the Bengals with 18 points, and the starting guard duo of Tomley and Arington had 17 apiece. Idaho State grabbed 13 rebounds to Northern Arizona’s five, and had an 18-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Four years ago, Idaho State similarly beat Northern Arizona in the first round, only for the COVID pandemic to cancel the tournament. This was the Bengals’ first conference tournament win since.
“Prior to coaching at Idaho State, my teams played in 12 straight national tournaments, including a national championship game, and that year was the only season I’ve ever ended with a win,” Looney joked.
Jayden Jackson led Northern Arizona with 16 points. The Lumberjacks ended their season with a 14-19 record.
