MOSCOW, Idaho ? The University of Idaho men's basketball team was able to grind out a 78-75 win over Cal State Northridge Saturday in an ESPNU BracketBuster contest.

Idaho (13-13) scorched the nets with 68-percent shooting, but saw an 11-point lead dwindle to one in the final minutes behind tenacious full-court pressure from Cal State Northridge (12-12).

The Vandals led 69-58 on a Trevor Morris 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining, but four Idaho turnovers, a technical foul, and 7-of-14 shooting from the free throw line allowed the Matadors to cut the margin to 76-75 with 15.9 seconds remaining. Cal State Northridge hit 7-of-8 free throws and two timely 3-pointers during the stretch.

“I was scolding myself,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said of the final four minutes. “I haven't done enough work on those types of situations in practice. We haven't been pressed a whole lot in the (Western Athletic Conference) and we haven't worked on it. Us losing that (11-point) lead is my fault. I didn't have them prepared for that situation.”

Luciano de Souza pushed the score to its final margin with two free throws with 15.2 seconds remaining and the Matadors missed two attempts on their final possession before fouling with 0.2 seconds on the clock.

“We played Northridge for a long time in the Big West (at Utah State) and they are different. They pressure the ball and they keep coming at you. They are hard to get ready for and they always have been. We shot 68-percent and 50 from 3, but had 20 turnovers which led to them taking 18 more shots. That is why the score was so close,” Verlin said.

Idaho had four players score in double figures. Mac Hopson and Kashif Watson scored 17 points apiece and Marvin Jefferson and de Souza each added 13. Hopson added six assists and four steals and Jefferson chipped in seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Vandals hit 26-of-38 (.684) shots from the floor and 6-of-12 3-pointers. Idaho also attempted 33 free throws in the contest, but hit just 20.

Idaho scored 40 points in the paint, but Cal State Northridge turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points and 20 Vandal turnovers meant 22 Matador points.

“We worked all week trying to get ready for these guys, but it's almost impossible to simulate Northridge and how hard they come at you and how hard their ball pressure is on every possession,” Verlin said.

The contest saw 11 ties and seven lead changes, including eight ties and five lead changes in the first half. With the score tied 6-6 at the 18:02 mark, Cal State Northridge used a 7-0 run to build its biggest lead of the game at 13-6. Idaho countered with a 9-0 run to retake the lead, but the Matadors scored eight of the next 10 points to move ahead once again. Idaho tied the score on four occasions over the next five minutes before using a 6-0 run to move ahead 33-30 with 41 seconds remaining. CSUN scored on its next possession and Jefferson capped the first half with a dunk in the final 10 seconds to give Idaho a 35-32 margin at the break.

The Matadors quickly tied the score at 35-35 and again at 37-37 before moving ahead 40-38 with 17:42 to play. Idaho began causing the Matadors havoc and stretched a 9-0 run into a 15-2 span to move ahead 53-42 with 12:40 remaining. Cal State Northridge responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut into the margin and later trailed just 55-52 at the 8:54 mark. Hopson drained a 3-pointer that began an 8-0 Idaho run and push the advantage back to 11 and the Vandals would reach that margin twice more before Northridge began to cut into the lead.

The Vandals hit nearly every shot from the floor in the second half, finishing 13-of-17 (.765) from the floor and 4-of-5 from the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes. Cal State Northridge hit just 12-of-28 attempts in the second half, but kept the score close with seven 3-pointers.

The non-conference win was Idaho's first BracketBuster victory in four tries.

“I think (this game) was good for us. We made some unbelievably big plays down the stretch. Any time you play a close ball game and find a way to win... it helps us a lot” Verlin said.

Idaho returns to WAC play next week with two road games. The Vandals play at San Jose State Thursday (Feb. 26) and at Fresno State Saturday (Feb. 28).