The Idaho Vandals men’s basketball team built a 21-point lead midway through the second half and held off Portland State for an 80-70 win in the quarterfinals o

BOISE – Bolstered by a relentless defensive effort and a solid shooting performance, sixth-seeded Idaho defeated Portland State 80-70 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament Tuesday night at Idaho Central Arena.

The third-seeded Idaho Vandals lost to the sixth-seeded Montana Grizzlies, who had four players score 10-or-more points en route to a convincing win in the third round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament, 65-54 in Boise.

We learned our lesson from those first two games,” Idaho coach Alex Pribble said on the Vandals’ postgame radio show. “They pounded the ball inside on us relentlessly the first two games. It (the zone) really threw their rhythm off.

Idaho proved it is fast improving after knocking off No. 3 seed Portland State on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament.