MOSCOW, Idaho ? The University of Idaho men's basketball team opened the 2007-08 season with a bang in the form of a 110-52 victory over visiting Cascade College.
The 110 points are the most for an Idaho team since scoring 116 vs. Simon Fraser State Nov. 14, 1991 and it is the first time the Vandals have eclipsed the century mark since scoring 101 vs. Cal Poly Jan. 9, 1999.
Most importantly, the Vandals begin the season 1-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
“We told the team all week this was our party, not their party,” Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. “They are coming into our house so behave like it's our party.”
A party atmosphere took over the near-capacity crowd of 1,362 fans at Memorial Gym as the Vandals threw down five dunks, hit 12 3-pointers, and shot 66-percent from the floor in the game.
Idaho had five players score in double-figures and every Vandal to see the court contributed in the points column. Trevor Morris led all scorers with 25 points and hit 5-of-8 shots from beyond the 3-point line. Michael Crowell and Darin Nagle each chipped in 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Crowell was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Brandon Brown scored 11 points off the bench and Jordan Brooks notched a near triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The Vandals built a 42-22 lead at the half thanks to a 14-of-27 (.519) shooting performance and then exploded for 68 points in the second half while hitting 25-of-32 (.781) attempts from the floor, including 7-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc.
“Obviously when we shoot 78-percent in the second half we have to be pleased with what our guys are doing. We have better players than they do so we should have this type of outcome,” Pfeifer said.
Idaho held a 40-24 advantage in rebounding and held Cascade College to a 31-percent field goal percentage.
Morris opened the game with a 3-pointer and Crowell followed suit to give the Vandals an early 6-0 lead. The lead was again six at 11-5 when back-to-back dunks from Luis Augusto and Brooks sent the fans into a frenzy. Cascade College cut the lead to five points at 22-17 but Nagle's back-to-back 3-point daggers set the tempo for the remainder of the contest. Idaho later used an 8-0 run to pull ahead 36-19 and ended the half on a 12-3 run to lead 42-22 at halftime.
The Vandals opened the second half by hitting its first nine field goals and quickly built a 67-27 advantage at the 14:02 mark. The Thunderbirds would never get closer than 34 points for the remainder of the contest and Idaho eventually led by 62 points at 108-46 on three consecutive 3-pointers and a Brown dunk with 2:23 remaining.
“We tried to take some shortcuts in the first half and we are not good at shortcuts. We were more disciplined on the offensive end of the floor in the second half and made simple plays,” Pfeifer said.
Idaho will try to harness its momentum as it heads into its next contest at #14 Gonzaga Tuesday. Fans in the Spokane area can watch the contest on KHQ Channel 6. The game begins at 5 p.m.
