The Vandals struggled to get going early, NMSU jumped out to a 10-1 lead before the Idaho offense scored a field goal. The Aggies led 22-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Idaho took control in the second. With 5:47 left in the second quarter, Idaho started a 30-7 run that lasted over 10 minutes of game time and saw the Vandals go from down 13 (27-14) to up 10 (44-34). The run also included a 9-0 run to close the half to cut the deficit to 30-27 at the break.
The Vandals led 44-34 with 5:28 to play in the third before the Aggies battled back to cut the lead to 47-44 at the end of the third and tied the game early in the fourth at 47.