BOISE, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's basketball team fell to the Boise State Broncos Friday night in their 2004-05 season opener, 76-66.
"I'm not disappointed with the kids' effort tonight, but we didn't execute at times," head coach Leonard Perry said. "You can't have 18 turnovers on your opponents home floor and expect to win."
The Vandals had trouble finding their offense in the first half as Tanoris Shepard accounted for all of Idaho's points until midway through. Idaho's scrappy defense kept them in the game before the offense picked up some momentum. The Vandals trailed by three at the 9:25 mark before they went on a 6-0 run, sparked by an Anton Lyons put back. Armend Kahrimanovic and Tihon Johnson followed with lay-ins before a basket by Seth Robinson knotted the game at 19.
Idaho extended their lead to four at 25-21 before a 6-0 run by BSU gave the Broncos the lead, 30-27. A lay-in by Shepard with 56 seconds remaining gave Idaho a 35-32 lead. Jermaine Blackburn was fouled on the next possession for BSU but could only convert on one of his free throws. Freshman Jerod Haynes hit a jumper with three seconds remaining to give the Vandals a 37-33 lead heading into halftime.
Shepard paced Idaho through the first half with 10 points while Johnson added eight. Blackburn led Boise State with 11 points.
The Vandals grabbed their largest lead of the game at 39-33 as Dandrick Jones connected on his first attempt of the second half. However, Coby Karl responded with a three pointer and after being fouled on the play, connected on his foul shot to tie the game at 39.
"The only way they could guard us was with the zone," Perry said. "Man on man we win."
Jones scored six points in the first five minutes before committing three personal fouls that forced him to the bench. Turnovers and personal fouls were a factor early in the second half as the Vandals were whistled for seven fouls compared to only two for BSU.
The Broncos gained momentum in the second half led by a three pointer from Karl and followed by a three-point play by Blackburn to push the lead to 12 at 57-45. BSU would continue to build on their lead, eventually pushing it to 17, before an 8-0 run by the Vandals cut the lead to nine. Haynes led the charge for Idaho as he recorded nine of his 13 points during the run. However, Idaho wouldn't get any closer than nine as they fell to the Broncos for the seventh consecutive game.
"They played a lot more zone in the second half," Shepard said. "It got in our way and we had to settle at times."
Idaho shot 47 percent from the floor for the night while Boise State shot 49 percent. In the second half, Idaho shot just 39 percent and Boise State shot 57 percent.
The big difference in the game was foul shooting. The Broncos connected on 20 of 33 foul shots while the Vandals connected on four out of only seven attempts.
Shepard led the Vandals with 16 points and four rebounds. Jones added 12 points and seven rebounds while Haynes chipped in 13 points.
"I'm very disappointed... We all wanted this game," Shepard said. "We wanted to start the season off on the right foot but we can't let it linger. We have a game in 24 hours."
Boise State was led by Blackburn with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Karl had 19 points for the Broncos.
Idaho (0-1) will take on Southeastern Louisiana tomorrow at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
