SAN JOSE, Calif. - Looking at a 60-55 deficit with 4:58 left in the game, the University of Idaho men's basketball team unleashed a 17-2 scoring run and stunned the host San Jose State Spartans by a 75-67 margin on Saturday at The Event Center.

Idaho (9-6, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) trailed for a majority of the game, and didn't lead by more than a single possession until 2:03 remained in the contest. San Jose State (8-7, 0-4 WAC) led by as many as eight points and held four- to five-point leads for most of the game.

After eliminating a five-point deficit to tie things up at 60-60 with 3:33 remaining, Idaho surrendered a pair of free throws, but then rattled off 12 unanswered points and held SJSU to six straight misses to seize complete control of the game.

"When the score was tied 60-60, I thought we made a number of great defensive plays, and Jeff stepped up and made some shots, we finished our ball, we made our free throws down the stretch, and that's what you've got to do on the road," Idaho head coach Don Verlin said.

It was another balanced effort by Idaho, which had five scorers in double figures, and tied a season high with 21 assists on 27 made baskets. It was also Idaho's first WAC road sweep under Verlin and the first since 2007-08 and Idaho's 3-1 conference record is its best conference start since 2004-05, when the Vandals also started 3-1 in the Big West.

Junior guard Deremy Geiger led the Vandals with 17 points, and set career highs with five rebounds and six assists. Senior Jeff Ledbetter put in 13 points, all in the second half, while junior forward Luiz Toledo also dropped in 13, and added nine boards. Senior Shawn Henderson and sophomore Kyle Barone added 11 points apiece, while Henderson had four rebounds and Barone had five.

"The stat I like the best is 21 assists, 11 turnovers," Verlin said. "We played very well down the stretch and in the entire second half."

After a sluggish opening half as a team, Idaho came back with energy in the second - the Vandals hit just 36.7 percent (11-30) of their first-half shots, then came back and shot 66.7 percent (16-24) in the second period. Idaho finished the game shooting 27-of-54 (.500) from the field and 6-of-18 (.333) from 3-point range.

By contrast, San Jose State hit a 44.8 (13-29) percent clip in the first half, but managed just 30.3 (10-33) shooting in the second, including an 18.2 percent effort from 3-point range. For the game, the Spartans shot 23-of-62 (.371) overall and 5-of-19 (.263) from 3-point range.

"I thought we were a little road-weary the first half there, and had some tired legs, but I thought in the second half, the guys played really hard and played well, and I really liked what I saw," Verlin said after the game.

San Jose State out-rebounded Idaho, 36-32, and outscored the Vandals 13-7 on second-chance points. Both teams committed 11 turnovers, but the Spartans outscored Idaho 14-9 in points off giveaways. The Vandals held a 26-16 advantage in the paint and a 15-14 edge off the bench.

No matter what the Spartans did, Idaho just seemed to stick around. SJSU made a strong push at the end of the first period and extended its lead to 35-27 at the half, but the Vandals opened up the second stanza with a 13-4 run that gave them a 40-39 lead at the 15:47 mark.

Again, SJSU appeared poised to pull away after scoring six straight to go up 45-40, then again when they pulled ahead 60-55 with just 4:58 left in the game. That was when the Vandals made their move.

A Jeff Ledbetter 3-pointer, followed by a Shawn Henderson jumper tied things up at 60-all at the 3:33 media timeout. SJSU's Adrian Oliver, who led all scorers with 25 points, knocked down a pair of free throws to put the hosts back up by two, but then a balanced Idaho attack went 3-for-3 from the field and made 6-of-7 free throws over the next 2:39, while simultaneously holding the Spartans 0-for-6 from the field.

Henderson said the team's mindset in the final huddle before the run was simple.

"Give it everything you've got. There's only three minutes left, then it's over," Henderson said. "You don't have to run, play any more defense, or set any more screens, it's three minutes and it's done, so just give it all you've got."

Idaho went up 72-62 with 40 seconds remaining and the Spartans weren't able to close the gap closer than eight points in the final seconds.

SJSU jumped out to a 7-2 lead at 16:46 of the first, but Idaho clawed back with a 7-2 run of its own over the next three minutes to bring the score to 11-9 in San Jose State's favor. The Spartans would open leads of as many as six on two occasions before the three-minute, when a Calvin Douglas jumper put SJSU up by seven points at 31-24 with 2:57 to go in the half.

SJSU's Graham hit an elbow jumper with one second left in the period to send the Spartans into the break with a 35-27 lead.

Idaho won't get too much of a break before another tough test, when Nevada visits the Cowan Spectrum on Wednesday, Jan. 12. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and will tip off at 8:05 p.m. (PST). The Wolf Pack lost on Saturday by an 81-67 margin at Utah State and is 4-12 overall, and 1-2 in the WAC this year.