MOSCOW, Idaho – Another cold stretch proved to be too much to overcome as Idaho (3-3) fell to San Jose State (3-3), 58-49, on Tuesday night in Memorial Gym.
 
"Obviously it was a tough defeat here," said head coach Don Verlin.  "You have to take your hats off to San Jose State, they came up here and played very well in the Palouse this week.  One of the issues tonight was we had some below-the-line behavior and stuff we can't have, but with six or seven minutes to go the score is tied and we had a chance to win this basketball game.  We just didn't execute."
 
After fighting their way back to tie the game at 47 with just over six minutes to play the Vandal offense hit a wall it could not overcome.  Idaho would make just one more field goal the rest of the way, an Arkadiy Mkrtychyan layup, while the Spartans iced the game at the line in the closing minutes.
 
It truly was a close contest throughout.  San Jose State came out of the break on a 6-2 run but Idaho would respond to keep the margin of deficit small.  The Vandals stayed tough defensively, holding San Jose State to 31.3 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc, but allowed 13 offensive rebounds to the active Spartans.  Turnovers were also an issue, as the Vandals committed 17 on the day.
 
Victor Sanders once again was the top scorer for the Vandals, finishing with 15.  He also led the Vandals with three assists.  Jordan Scott was tremendous on the glass, grabbing eight boards.  Mkrtychyan finished with nine and seven in 20 minutes off the bench.
 
As a team, Idaho shot 34 percent (18-of-53) and 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from deep.
 
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.