MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's basketball team rolled with the Washington State punches through the second half of Saturday's contest, but a 12-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome as the Vandals fell at home to the Cougars, 66-54.
On paper, Idaho (1-8) improved in nearly every area that has been haunting the team through its now seven-game losing skid, but in the end Washington State's (9-1) 48-percent shooting from the field proved to be the difference.
The Vandals grabbed more offensive rebounds, scored more second chance points, and each team turned the ball over 14 times, but the Cougars hit four more shots from the floor and connected on four more free throws to earn the 12-point victory.
"I thought our players fought hard and competed well tonight," Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. "We still have a long way to go to, but I was more proud of their performance throughout the entire game tonight. We had some good looks at the basket and just couldn't make them and there were some times on the defensive end of the floor where I didn't feel we were on an edge. Plus, this is a 9-1 Washington State team that just beat Gonzaga."
Idaho scored the first points of the contest on a Keoni Watson lay in, but Washington State answered with seven consecutive points to take a lead it would not relinquish. Clyde Johnson hit a 3-pointer at the 16:15 mark to bring the Vandals to within 7-5, but the next six points belonged to the Cougars as they built an eight-point advantage with 13:44 remaining in the half. Idaho cut the deficit to three points with 9:48 remaining, but a 9-2 Washington State run gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead of the contest at 24-14 at the 5:48 mark. Idaho pushed back to within five, but Washington closed out the final 3:13 of the half on a 10-3 run to go up 36-24 at halftime.
Watson hit a 3-pointer to open the second half and pull Idaho within nine points, but a steady stream of offensive production from the Cougars and a steady stream of missed second-chance opportunities by the Vandals meant the deficit was 45-31 with 13:45 remaining. The Vandals trimmed the lead to 45-35 with 11:10 remaining, but Washington State never wavered on its way to building a 19-point advantage with just under two minutes to play. Idaho outscored Washington State 11-4 over the final 1:36 to bring the final score to 66-54.
Watson led all scorers with 24 points and added three steals. O.J. Avworo started his second game of the season, scoring seven points and committing zero turnovers in 34 minutes. Desmond Nwoke tallied just five points but grabbed nine rebounds and added a blocked shot. Six of Nwoke's nine rebounds were offensive.
"Desmond played his best game of the season," Pfeifer said.
Washington State had four players in double figures with Derrick Low and Mac Hopson each scoring 14 points. Aron Baynes finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
The Vandals hit 21-of-53 (.396) shots from the field while Washington State was 25-of-52 (.481) from the floor.
Idaho will have the next two days off and will travel to North Dakota State for a contest Saturday (Dec. 16) at 5 p.m.
NOTE: Mario Mackey has left the Idaho men's basketball team. The junior guard from Aurora, Colo., was averaging 10.0 points per game for the Vandals through seven games.
"We came to the conclusion this wasn't the best fit for him," Pfeifer said. "Before we left for Idaho State we decided he needed to think about and I needed to think about it and when we came back we both came to the conclusion this wasn't the best situation for us so we are moving on."
Pfeifer stressed the decision was not based on a disciplinary issue.
