MOSCOW, Idaho - It was another stinging defeat for the Idaho men's basketball team on Thursday, as the Vandal men saw multiple late leads slip away and fell to San Jose State in double-overtime by a 92-89 score at the Cowan Spectrum.
Idaho (12-10, 5-5 Western Athletic Conference) led by eight points, 66-58 with 1:16 left in regulation, but two turnovers and two fouls helped SJSU (11-10, 3-7 WAC) scored eight unanswered to close out the game, including a deep 3-pointer by Justin Graham that tied the game up with 22 seconds left.
"You're up eight with 1:16 to go, up 10 with two minutes to go - you've got to find a way to win that game," Verlin said after the game. "That comes down to making some winning plays and doing a better job coaching, but that game should have been won in regulation."
The Spartans hit a pair of NBA-range 3-pointers in the closing seconds of regulation, then again in the first overtime, to tie up the game. The Vandals had chances each time to take the final shot, but neither attempt fell.
Vandal senior Shawn Henderson's runner in the lane missed with seven seconds in regulation, then sophomore Kyle Barone's midrange jumper at the buzzer in first overtime was just short.
It was Idaho that jumped out to leads in the second half and in the first overtime and the Spartans that had to play catch-up. In the second extra period, SJSU raced out to a five-point lead that Idaho couldn't break. Vandal senior Jeff Ledbetter tied the game, 89-89, with a 3-pointer at the 0:58 mark, then SJSU's Keith Shamburger made one of two free throws to give the Spartans a one-point lead, 89-90.
On the ensuing possession, Idaho's Deremy Geiger attempted a tough layup, but SJSU grabbed the rebound, sent the ball forward and got a quick bucket. The Vandals had one final chance with 1.7 seconds remaining, but junior guard Landon Tatum's half-court buzzer-beater hit the back of the iron.
"They made the winning plays tonight and we didn't. That's really the bottom line to this game," Verlin said. "There's so many things that went on - I think you could go through and analyze every play, every possession, but the bottom tonight line is we didn't make the good block-outs and come up with the loose balls when we needed to, to secure this win."
Idaho shot 44.8 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from 3-point range and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line. The Spartans hit a 47.4 overall clip, with 37.5 from long range and 57.9 percent from the free throw line. SJSU out-rebounded Idaho, 47-38, including 16-10 on offensive boards.
The Spartans outscored Idaho, 40-36, in the paint and 17-12 on second-chance points. They also had 11 points on the fast break, compared to two for Idaho. The Vandal bench produced 30 points, while SJSU's bench went 0-4 from the field and didn't contribute a point.
"I thought Landon and Kyle did a good job of the bench," Verlin said about the Idaho reserves. "Stephen Madison gave us a good lift in first half and made some good plays. I was very happy with the way he played, also."
The Vandals had a season-high 23 assists, to go along with just 12 turnovers. Idaho also stole the ball a season-high 11 times. San Jose State had 14 assists, 17 turnovers and nine steals.
Junior forward Luiz Toledo led Idaho with a career-high 19 points, while Ledbetter put in 17 and Barone and senior forward Brandon Wiley each added 15. Tatum had a career-high eight assists and just one turnover, while Henderson had eight points, three rebounds and a career-high five steals.
The game featured 18 lead changes and 16 ties. It was Idaho's first double-overtime game since an 85-80 double-OT loss at Boise State on Mar. 4, 2006.
Idaho will now look to shrug off its four-game skid on Saturday, when the Vandals host Hawai'i at the Cowan Spectrum at 7:05 p.m. The Rainbow Warriors come to Moscow on a positive note, with wins in four of their last five, including a 73-66 win at Boise State on Thursday.
