MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's basketball team lost its sixth consecutive game Saturday afternoon with a 57-53 loss to San Jose State at the Cowan Spectrum.  The Spartans ended their 21 game conference road losing streak with the win and also gained their first WAC victory of the season.  Idaho falls to 3-12 overall, 0-5 in the WAC.

"We got it down to a one possession game and they had some guys step up.  We had some opportunities and we didn't get it done," Idaho head coach Leonard Perry said.

"Winning any game on the road in our conference is very difficult to do so for us this is a big win," San Jose State head coach George Nessman said. "Although people looking at the conference standings don't look at it as a big win but I know that the Idaho kids played their hearts out and our kids did."

Idaho held a 6-4 lead early in the first half before San Jose State went on a 9-2 run to take a 13-8 lead with 10:51 remaining.  The Vandals cut the lead to two points on a Tanoris Shepard three pointer but the Spartans were able to hold on to the lead and eventually pushed it to six points on two occasions.  David Dubois hit a jumper with 51 seconds remaining to cut the lead to four heading into halftime, 22-18.

Both teams had trouble taking care of the ball in the first half as they combined for 22 turnovers.  San Jose State held a 21 to 14 rebounding edge at the break.

The Spartans came out strong in the second half and pushed their lead to eight with 15:56 left in the game.  Dubois cut the lead to four with a put back on his own missed free throw at the 13:57 mark. 

The Vandals made a basket with 11:51 remaining and then went the next six minutes without making a shot from the floor.  Idaho was able to stay in the game with free throws as the team knocked down 9-of-10 from the stripe.  Keoni Watson ended Idaho's drought from the floor with a lay-in to cut the lead to 46-44 with 5:52 left but the Vandals couldn't get a defensive stop and San Jose State quickly pushed the lead back to six points.

Watson completed a three point play with 4:45 remaining to bring the score to 50-47 and both teams went scoreless for the next three and a half minutes.  Demetrius Brown hit two free throws to end the stalemate at the 1:12 mark to put San Jose State up by five, 52-47.  The Vandals turned the ball over on their next possession but Brown missed a lay-in at the other end and Shepard was able to grab the rebound and take it down the floor for a lay-up.  Idaho was forced to foul down the stretch but San Jose State hit only 5-of-10 free throws with less than a minute remaining to allow the Vandals to stay in the game.

"We couldn't make a free throw," Nessman said. "It's hard to have guys confident in a tight game when they haven't succeeded that often."

With 11 seconds left in the game and down by three points, Idaho had a chance to tie it at 56, but Igor Vrzina's three pointer missed its mark.  San Jose State's defense was able to keep Idaho's main three point shooters in check and Vrzina was forced to take the shot. 

"Igor was our last option and he was wide open," Perry said.

The Vandals shot 34 percent from the floor for the game and were a dismal 2-of-20 from the three point line.  Idaho did connect on 15-of-20 free throw attempts for 75 percent.  San Jose State shot 36 percent from the field and only 56 percent from the free throw line.  The Spartans held a 43-33 rebounding margin including 12 offensive rebounds.  After the sloppy first half the two teams managed to combine for only nine turnovers in the second half.

Idaho was led by Keoni Watson and David Dubois with 17 points apiece while Tanoris Shepard added 12.  Desmond Nwoke led the team with nine rebounds.  Demetrius Brown recorded a double-double for the Spartans with 16 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

"We are disappointed in ourselves because we should have won," Watson said. "Our coaches gave us great strategies and it just came down to executing.  We missed a couple possessions that we could have had."

"It hurts, they all hurt," Perry said. "You don't feel any worse than you do at Utah State. We're going to continue to put these kids in a position to win games.  If they keep working as hard as they have worked, good things will happen to us."

Idaho (3-12, 0-5 WAC) travels to Fargo, N.D. for a non conference match-up with North Dakota State.  The Bison (11-9) are coming off a 62-55 win over #15 Wisconsin.  The Vandals defeated the Bison earlier this season, 76-71 at the Cowan Spectrum.