MOSCOW — Idaho guard Trevon Allen wasn’t going to be denied a victory on his senior day.

The 6-foot-2 guard racked up 33 points, including a go-ahead layup in the final minute and two free throws to ice the game in UI’s 80-76 rivalry win Saturday against Idaho State at Cowan Spectrum.

Allen, a Lapwai product via Clarkston High School and UI’s workhorse the past two seasons, also moved into eighth all-time on the school’s career scoring list with 1,360 points.

Once the game was in hand after Allen’s final free throw, he could be seen glancing up to the rafters.

“I was soaking it all in,” Allen said. “Last time being able to play with my teammates in that atmosphere, last time I’ll be able to run up and down that court in a live-game setting. So I was trying to soak in as much of it as I could, and it was huge to come out with the win.”

With the win, Idaho (8-23, 4-16) earned the No. 10 seed in the Big Sky tournament. The Vandals will play seventh-seeded Southern Utah (16-15, 9-11) at approximately noon Wednesday at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.

Idaho, which also celebrated senior grad transfer Quinton Forrest (five points), is no stranger to senior day success. The Vandals are winners of 12 consecutive senior day games.

The latest also resulted in a series win against Idaho State (7-22, 4-16) in the intrastate rivalry. The Bengals won the first game of the season, 62-60, on Dec. 28 in Pocatello.

Like in that one, this game came down to the waning moments, as is often the case when the two teams meet.

Offense was clicking for both sides, with Idaho shooting 54.5 percent and ISU shooting 46.6 percent from the field.

The Bengals had no answer for Allen’s speed and control with the ball. He was fouled 12 times, making 10-of-12 free throws. But he also shot 10-of-20 from the field and was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.

“He had an aggressiveness to him,” Idaho coach Zac Claus said. “He played downhill with the ball in his hands all day long.

“He drew a number of fouls and that enabled us to get both him and others to the line quicker and get ourselves in the bonus.”

But as Allen and the Vandals were scoring and getting to the line on one end, Malik Porter and the Bengals were doing the same on the other.

Porter tallied 25 points, mostly in the paint, and Idaho State as a team went 18-of-24 from the free-throw line.

“That kid can play,” Claus said of ISU’s 6-5 forward. “What we’ve seen on film coming into the game, I didn’t want any part of him, and then he did it against us.”

Neither team could hold onto an advantage in the first half and they went into the locker tied at 38.

The Vandals stretched their lead to seven — their largest of the game — on a Babacar Thiombane traditional three-point play that made it 54-47, only for ISU to tie it back at 56 on a Porter layup two minutes later.

Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way.

Idaho took its final lead on Allen’s driving layup that made it 76-75 with 28.6 seconds remaining.

Porter missed a 3 on the other end and ISU was forced to foul to extend the game.

Forrest and Allen combined to go 3-of-6 from the line after that — just enough to put the game out of reach.

ISU had a bit of a blunder when Tarik Cool fired a would-be-tying shot far too soon from just inside half court. The ball bounced out of bounds with 1.5 seconds still on the clock, leading to Allen’s final free throw.

The Vandals received a boost from 6-8 center Scott Blakney, who tacked on a 16-point, 13-rebound performance against an ISU team that used a small lineup.

Blakney’s 26 minutes were big for UI, considering the Vandals were missing backup center Jack Wilson for the third consecutive game. Blakney finished with four fouls and at one point came up limping, but returned to the game.

“I knew coming in that they were a little bit undersized, so our game plan was trying to take advantage of that a little bit.” said Blakney, a junior. “And I was glad we could go out and get a win for our two guys (Allen and Forrest) right here.”

The Bengals received 13 points from Jared Stutzman and 10 from Austin Smellie.

Moscow High School grad Gabe Quinnett added eight points, including a pair of big 3s, for Idaho.

UI’s experience in close games this season could come in handy if the Vandals are to play the role of upset-maker in the conference tournament.

“This is why kids sign up to play Division I basketball — to play in games that come down to the wire,” Claus said.

IDAHO STATE (7-22, 4-16)

Maker 2-6 0-0 6, Udengwu 2-6 2-2 6, Cool 3-7 2-3 8, Smellie 3-5 4-6 10, Stutzman 4-10 3-3 13, Porter 9-17 7-10 25, Edelmayer 3-6 0-0 6, Rushin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 18-24 76.

IDAHO (8-23, 4-16)

Blakney 7-11 2-2 16, Forrest 2-2 1-2 5, Allen 10-20 10-12 33, Quinnett 3-5 0-1 8, Thacker 3-5 0-0 7, Garvin 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-1 0-0 0, Thiombane 3-3 1-1 7, Christmas 1-3 0-0 2, Fraser 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-52 14-18 80.

Halftime — Tied at 38. 3-point goals — Idaho State 4-19 (Maker 2-5, Stutzman 2-7, Porter 0-1, Cool 0-2, Edelmayer 0-2, Smellie 0-2), Idaho 6-11 (Allen 3-6, Quinnett 2-3, Thacker 1-1, Christmas 0-1). Fouled out — Smellie, Porter, Rushin. Rebounds — Idaho State 23 (Porter 9), Idaho 31 (Blakney 13). Assists — Idaho State 12 (Smellie 4), Idaho 13 (Thacker 3). Total fouls — Idaho St. 17, Idaho 20. A — 1,510 (7,000).

Stephan Wiebe can be reached at swiebe@dnews.com, by phone at (208) 883-4624 and on Twitter at @StephanSports.