CHENEY, Wash. – An incredible opening half shooting by the Eagles proved to be too much for the Vandals to overcome, as Idaho (10-6, 2-1 BSC) fell at Eastern Washington (7-8, 1-2 BSC), 74-60, on Saturday afternoon at Reese Court.
“First of all, you have to give Easter Credit,” said head coach Don Verlin. “I thought they were very good offensively. I thought they did a great job of penetrating the lane and hitting their guys for open shots. Then they did a very nice job of making those shots. When you give someone 15 3-pointers you're probably going to get beat.”
EWU started the game 6-of-6 from the field, including 5-of-5 from beyond the arc to take an 18-6 lead early. The Vandals hung in, not letting the game get out of hand, but the hot shooting by the Eagles gave them a 46-30 lead at the break.
The game stayed in double-figures for the entirety of the second half, as the Idaho struggled from the field in its opening minutes. The Vandals made a comeback effort late, but ran out of time down the stretch.
The Eagles shot 15-of-29 (51.7%) from beyond the arc, making 10 in the first half alone. The Vandals struggled offensively, going 20-of-63 (31.3%) from the floor and just 3-of-15 (20.0%) from deep.
Victor Sanders led the way for Idaho with 18 points. Nate Sherwood had a solid night, scoring 12 points and adding eight rebounds.
Idaho won the rebound battle yet again, 45-32. The Vandals had just eight turnovers on the day, their fewest against a Division I opponent this season.
“We need to be resilient,” Verlin said. “Eastern played a good game, but we got out of sync and missed some easy shots. They dictated the tempo and they were the most aggressive team from start to finish. Quite frankly, they kicked our tails.”
The Vandals finally return home after nearly a month on the road and will take on Northern Arizona and Southern Utah next weekend. Check back with GoVandals.com for more information as the games get closer.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals
