MOSCOW, Idaho - For the second game in a row, the University of Idaho basketball team scored a comeback win after facing a double-digit deficit, this time in a 78-69 Senior Night victory over Seattle University to wrap up the regular season.

Idaho moves to 18-12 overall, its highest win total since 1994, while Seattle University slips to 11-19 on the season. One more victory this year will give Idaho its most wins since 1993, when the Vandals won 24 and earned a Big Sky Conference regular-season title.

While he was happy to overcome the deficit, Idaho head coach Don Verlin said he'd rather not be there in the first place, and that the team will have to come out stronger in next week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

"We can't have those starts in the WAC Tournament, but our guys played very hard in the second half, and we were able to get to some loose balls," Verlin said.

It was Sterling Carter who caused Idaho problems in the opening period, as he went 5-of-8 from 3-point range and had 18 of Seattle's 40 first-half points. The second half was another story, though, as he attempted just one more 3-pointer and didn't score in the final 20 minutes.

Trailing 44-39 at the 18:51 mark of the second half, Idaho rattled off a decisive 14-4 run that started with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions by Shawn Henderson, Jeff Ledbetter and Deremy Geiger. The Vandals went up by five at 53-48, with 15:12 to go.

A quick SU rally brought the game back even at 55-55 at the 12:58 mark, but Idaho scored the game's next six points and steadily built its lead until it reached as high as 10 points, 76-66, on a pair of Henderson free throws with 46 seconds remaining.

"We just grinded this one out. This was one of those games where it really took a lot," Geiger said. "We had to grind every possession, we couldn't give up, we couldn't relax, because we knew they were a good team that could get back into it just like that."

On the night reserved for seniors, it was a true freshman who stole the spotlight, as Idaho's Stephen Madison came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with three rebounds, three assists and an emphatic block that killed an SU fast-break chance.

"I thought he gave us a huge lift, I thought he was aggressive," Verlin said of Madison. "He turned it over a couple too many times, but I thought he was one of the differences in the game for us tonight."

Geiger led Idaho with 15 points, while Henderson celebrated his senior send-off with 13 points, three rebounds and a five-assist, zero-turnover effort. Ledbetter, also in his final home game, scored nine points and assisted four buckets.

As a team, Idaho hit 53.2 percent from the field and hit 44 percent of its 3-pointers. The key was in the second half, where the Vandals went 7-of-12 from long range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. They made 17 of their 23 total charity attempts.

As has been the standard this season, Idaho shared the ball very well. The Vandals tied a season high with 23 assists on 25 made shots, and six players registered at least three dishes in the game.

Seattle hit 53.1 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, but went 11-of-17 (.647) at the free throw line and turned it over 18 times.

The Redhawks were led by Carter, who finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Alex Jones added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as well as five assists and four rebounds. Garrett Lever added nine points and eight rebounds for Seattle.

While there's still more basketball to be played, Verlin said that he was glad to send his seniors out with a victory in their final home game.

"This senior group has been unbelievable," Verlin said. "With a whole new team this year with basically six years of Division-I experience, I relied on the seniors. All year long, they kept this group together. I hope we play four or five more (games), but I'm sad to see them go."

By virtue of New Mexico State's 77-68 win over Nevada, Idaho finishes in a tie for third place in the WAC this season and goes to next week's conference tournament with the No. 4 seed. The Vandals will open tournament play on Thursday, Mar. 10, at 12 p.m., in an ESPNU-televised game against the winner of the Hawai'i/San Jose State first-round matchup.

Idaho swept Hawai'i during the regular season and split its two meetings with SJSU.