SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The University of Idaho's road woes continued as the Vandals lost 87-63 to Cal Poly in a Big West Conference men's basketball game Thursday night at Mott Gymnasium.

Cal Poly (6-5, 1-2) shot out to an early 18-2 lead before the Vandals (3-8, 0-2) found their footing and closed to within one, 35-34, at the half. UI took the lead early in the second half and maintained it until Kameron Gray hit a 3-pointer to give Cal Poly the lead for good and to spark a furious finish for the Mustangs.

While giving credit to Cal Poly, UI coach Leonard Perry said the Vandals went into the game intent on slowing vaunted Mustang center Varnie Dennis. To do that, the Vandals opted to give Gray, who had been shooting 28 percent from long range, more of a cushion. That tactic backfired when Gray hit three-of-four from 3-point range and went seven-of-12 for the night in collecting 17 points. Dennis bettered his teammate's effort with a game-best 30 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.

"We were banking tonight wouldn't be his night," Perry said of Gray.

A bigger problem, still, was the 6-8, 265-pound Dennis who, if he wasn't doing enough damage inside himself, attracted such defensive focus that others were clear to wreck havoc. All told, 17 of Cal Poly's 44 rebounds came off the offensive glass.

"They shot 50 percent for the game because we gave them second shots," Perry said. "They killed us on the glass. Seventeen offensive rebounds ... can't do it. There were a lot of opportunities for us to get stops and the rebounds. That really hurt us."

As has plagued them throughout the season, the Vandals couldn't find their touch offensively. They managed just 33.3 percent from the field and 25.9 from 3-point range. The second half, when Cal Poly dropped into a zone defense, was particularly challenging with the Vandals hitting just 27.6 percent overall and 8.3 (one-of-12) of their 3-point attempts.

"Their zone hurt us in that we missed some good shots from the perimeter," Perry said. "Zones have given us trouble to this point. We have just struggled to shoot it."

There were moments, though, when that wasn't the case. After their early 16-point deficit, the Vandals rallied behind the 3-point shooting of Dwayne Williams and the steady effort of Dandrick Jones. Jones' 3-pointer with four seconds left in the first half closed the gap to one and eventually led to two three-point leads.

"We played great during that stretch," Perry said. "We executed to a tee. Then they knocked down some shots.

"We got some good looks, it just didn't go down."

Jones led the Vandals with 17 points.

UI continues Big West play Saturday night at UC Santa Barbara, which lost 74-67 to Utah State Thursday night.