MOSCOW, Idaho ? The University of Idaho men's basketball team returned some excitement to the oldest continuous rivalry in the West, however a late scoring drought doomed the Vandals in a 55-41 loss to Washington State Sunday.
Idaho (6-6) trailed 39-38 with 10:59 remaining before Washington State's (8-3) defense clamped down and held the Vandals to just one basket for the remainder of the contest.
The loss was Idaho's first at home this season.
“They did what they were supposed to do,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “They held us to 41 points and we shot 31-percent and that can't be Vandal basketball. We have got to score more points and shoot a higher percentage if we expect to win.”
The Vandals hit just 16-of-51 (.314) shots, including shooting 5-of-18 (.278) from beyond the 3-point arc. Washington State efficiently hit 25-of-54 (.463) attempts and scored 30 points in the paint.
“This was a tough game. Washington State did a great job and just wore us down the last 10 minutes of the game. I give a lot of credit to the Washington State coaching staff. They made great adjustments to our game plan in the first half and came out (in the second half) and went to Aron Baynes. We couldn't stop him and that was the difference in the game,” Verlin said.
Both teams protected the ball as they each finished with just six turnovers, but Washington State turned its turnovers into 11 points compared to just four for Idaho. The Cougars also scored 10 second-chance points on seven offensive rebounds compared to just two points on five offensive boards for Idaho.
Mac Hopson led the Vandals with 10 points and added six assists and six rebounds with no turnovers in 38 minutes. Kashif Watson scored nine points and Marvin Jefferson grabbed 10 rebounds and added three blocks.
Baynes led all scorers with 18 points.
Washington State charged to early advantages of 7-0 and 9-2, but the Vandals fought back to pull within 14-13 with 9:09 remaining. Idaho gained a short 17-16 advantage on a Watson lay in, but the Cougars regained the lead with a basket on the next possession. Terrence Simmons hit a 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining in the half to put Idaho ahead 20-18, but Washington State scored the final four points to hold a 22-20 advantage at the half.
Washington State gained two four-point leads to begin the second half which were both quickly erased by three-point plays from Idaho. With the score 27-26 at the 16:58 mark, Washington State used a 6-0 run to pull ahead by seven and again led by seven at 35-28 with 13:49 remaining. Idaho pulled within 37-36 with the help of two 3-pointers and the teams traded baskets to make the score 39-38 at the 10:59 mark. The Vandals missed their next six shots as the Cougars used a 10-0 run to build a 49-38 advantage with 5:39 remaining. Simmons hit a 3-pointer to end the run at the 5:04 mark, but Idaho missed its next four attempts while the Washington State offense ran out the clock.
“We missed some lay ups and against a good team you can't miss your opportunities. We had some pick-and-roll opportunities that gave us shots close to the basket and we couldn't finish them. They are physical, they are strong, they are big, and they are very well coached and they don't give you any easy shots. They took us off of our rhythm most of the night,” Verlin said.
Idaho will take a break for the holidays before returning to action Dec. 29 at Idaho State at 6:05 p.m. PT.
