Vandals control Redhawks

SEATTLE, Wash. – Playing its third game in a five-day span, the University of Idaho men's basketball team looked like the fresher squad and rolled to a 73-62 victory over Seattle University on Sunday afternoon at KeyArena.

It was a defensive performance eerily similar to Friday's 74-60 win at Oregon State, as the Vandal men limited Seattle U to just 35.5 percent shooting overall and 23.1 percent from 3-point range. On the other side, Idaho shot 50 percent for the fifth time this season.

“I thought we executed offensively about as good as we have all year long,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. “We really moved the ball and we had some guys step up and play really well.”

In a different twist, senior guard Deremy Geiger, who had 27 points at OSU, didn't score until the closing minutes. Redshirt freshman Matt Borton and true freshman Connor Hill were there to pick up the scoring, though. Borton went 5-of-5, Hill went 3-of-3 and each nailed a pair of 3-pointers to combine for 22 points.

“If we get it working outside, they have to cheat out on us and it just opens the whole playbook,” Borton said.

The outside shooting loosened things up inside for senior forward Djim Bandoumel, who tied a season-high with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He also grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots and dished up two assists.

Sophomore Stephen Madison kept up his recent success with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, in addition to seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.

The decisive point of the game came right at the start of the second half, when the Vandals, who had taken a 43-37 lead into the break, scored 13 unanswered points to extend a 47-39 lead to 60-39 at the 11:16 mark.

SU used full-court press and took advantage of Idaho turnovers and missed free throws to whittle away at the lead, but they got no closer than the 72-62 margin with 10 seconds remaining.

As a team, Idaho went 27-of-49 (.551) from the field and 5-of-11 (.455) from 3-point range, but hit just 14 of their 25 free throw attempts for a season-low 56-percent clip. The Redhawks also made 27 field goals, but did it on 76 shot attempts for a 35.5 percentage. SU went 6-of-26 (.231) from 3-point range and made two of their three free throw attempts – both Idaho opponent season lows.

Idaho out-rebounded Seattle by a 43-36 overall margin and, despite giving up 22 offensive rebounds, held a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points. The Vandals also had 16 assists and 19 turnovers, while the Redhawks had 13 dishes and 10 turnovers.

Sterling Carter led Seattle with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while forward Aaron Broussard went 7-of-14 from the field for 15 to be the only other Redhawk in double figures.

Compared to recent trends, it will seem like an eternity before the Vandals hit the court again. Idaho plays its final home game before the new year on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Vandals host Cal State Bakersfield at 7:05 p.m. at the Cowan Spectrum.

“We've got to keep it going, we can't get complacent,” Verlin said. “We've got a tough Bakersfield team that's better than they were a year ago.”

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