Idaho tops Southern Utah 78-76 on Blake's putback

Mar 4, 2018, 06:52 am

MOSCOW, Idaho -- Victor Sanders scored 28 points and Brayon Blake added 24, including the winning putback, to lift Idaho to a 78-76 win over Southern Utah on Saturday night.

Tied at 76 with 11 seconds to play after Southern Utah's James McGee drained a 3-pointer, Sanders took the ball to the other end and launched a 3-point shot from the left side that bounced high off the back rim. Blake hauled it in for his 11th rebound of the game, spun to his left in traffic and swished in the winning jumper with just a second left on the clock.

Arkadiy Mkrtychyan chipped in 15 points for Idaho (22-8, 14-4 Big Sky Conference).

Both teams shot 52 percent from the field.

Southern Utah (11-18, 5-13) trailed by as many as 12 points but edged back into the lead late in the second half with a 5-0 spurt that made it 70-65 with 2:47 to play. Idaho responded with a 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Blake but Southern Utah tied it up again with McGee's 3, setting up the winning scramble at the other end.

Brandon Better scored 21 points to lead four Southern Utah players in double figures.