CEDAR CITY, Utah – An incredible run to open the second half gave Idaho (14-9, 6-4 BSC) a dominant, 68-44 win over Southern Utah (4-16, 2-7 BSC) on Thursday night.

“We did a great job of executing our game plan,” head coach Don Verlin said.  “We kept them out of the lane, we stayed between their bigs and the basket and we did an excellent job of rebounding the basketball.  I thought we just played a good solid basketball game.  I was really proud of our guys' focus and how they played defensively tonight.”

The Vandals got out to an early lead, behind some hot shooting from Chris Sarbaugh.  The Thunderbirds would fight back, leveling the score at 20 late in the first half.  Immediately following, Chad Sherwood hit back-to-back 3-pointers, over just 21 seconds.

Idaho took that momentum into the locker room and brought it out for the second half, beginning the period on a 21-6 run that all but secured the victory.  The Vandals kept their feet on the gas for the majority of the second half, growing their lead to as many as 27 points.

The defense continues to be the calling card of the Vandals.  Idaho held Southern Utah to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor (15-42) and 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc.  The 44 points allowed are the fewest against a Division I opponent since holding CSU Bakersfield to 44 on 12/17/11.

The Vandals also had five steals and four blocks on the night, and did not allow a single Thunderbird to score in double-figures.

Ty Egbert led the Vandals with 12 points, on 5-of-8 shooting.  Arkadiy Mkrtychyan and Nick Blair each finished with 10 points.

The Vandals remain on the road to take on Northern Arizona on Saturday.  Check back with GoVandals.com tomorrow for more information.

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