MOSCOW, Idaho - It was another tightly-contested game for the University of Idaho men's basketball team on Wednesday, but miscues by the Vandals gave New Mexico State a 74-69 victory in both teams' Western Athletic Conference opener.
Idaho (6-6, 0-1 WAC) committed 11 first-half turnovers and saw the Aggies (7-8, 1-0 WAC) turn 16 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points in the loss. After playing solid first-half defense, the Vandals allowed NMSU to shoot 63 percent from the field in the second.
"It seemed like we'd get a defensive stop, and they'd come up with the offensive rebound - two off free throw line errors, which are totally unacceptable," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said.
Idaho had a chance late in the game when the score was 72-69, but junior Landon Tatum's layup attempt was blocked with four seconds to go.
The game featured 17 lead changes and six ties. Idaho took its final lead at 53-51 with 8:39 left in the game, but the Aggies made five of six shots and outscored the Vandals 13-4 over the following three minutes to take a seven-point lead that Idaho couldn't eliminate.
Sophomore center Kyle Barone had a career game with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a 6-for-6 free-throw effort. He also tied a career high with nine rebounds.
"I thought Kyle Barone played probably one of his best games since he's been here," Verlin said after the game. "He played how I expect him to play and how he expects himself to play."
Junior forward Luiz Toledo scored 14 points, with nine rebounds - five offensive - and a career-high two blocked shots. Senior guard Shawn Henderson put in nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and tied his career high with five assists.
Troy Gillenwater led the Aggies with 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting, along with seven rebounds. Hernst Laroche and Tyrone Watson added 12 points each, with Laroche also dishing six assists and Watson grabbing five key offensive boards.
The Vandals shot 24-of-52 (.462) from the floor and 17-of-21 (.810) from the free throw line, but went just 4-of-14 (.286) from 3-point range. New Mexico State shot 29 percent (9-31) in the first half, but hit 17 of their 27 (.630) second-half attempts and finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the field.
Turnovers bit Idaho again, as the Aggies turned 17 Vandal miscues into 17 points. Idaho scored 15 off 17 NMSU turnovers and had nine second-chance points off 11 offensive boards. Both teams scored eight fast break points and 38 points in the paint.
"This team is getting better, but there were times tonight where we really showed our inexperience, and that was tough," Verlin said after the game. "We've just got to continue to tighten up the ship and continue to grow as a team and continue to work hard."
The first half seemed disjointed, as the teams combined for 19 turnovers and just seven assists. Idaho shot 37.5 percent from the field, but just 20 percent from long range, while NMSU hit just 20 percent of its shots overall and 14.3 percent of its 3-pointers.
After the Aggies took a 9-2 lead to start the game, neither team led by more than five points and the lead changed six times. After a Gillenwater jumper put NMSU up by five at 29-24 with 4:15 remaining in the opening period, Idaho held the Aggies without a point for the rest of the half and rattled off seven unanswered to take a 31-29 lead at the break.
Idaho's next action will be on Friday, when Louisiana Tech visits the Cowan Spectrum. The Bulldogs fell at Boise State on Wednesday by a 71-60 score and are 9-6 overall this season. Friday's game tips off at 7:05 p.m.
