MOSCOW, Idaho – The 2015-16 season was one to remember for Idaho men's basketball. The team battled through adversity to post its best record in more than 20 years, showing all along what it means to be a Vandal.
It was an up-and-down season, but the Vandals never lost sight of their championship goals. Idaho got out to a great start, beginning the season 4-1 with its only loss coming to eventual WAC champion CSU-Bakersfield. The Vandals ran into the toughest stretch in the schedule next, eventually leveling off at 5-5 on the season.
The turning came point came in early December, when local rival Washington State made the quick trip over to the Cowan Spectrum. The Vandal faithful was as loud as ever and the team did not disappoint, taking down the Cougars for the second straight season with an inspired 78-74 win. It was Idaho's first home win against WSU since 2002 and the first time the Vandals had won back-to-back in the Battle of the Palouse since 1988-90.
After wrapping up non-conference play 8-5, Idaho turned its attention to the Big Sky. The Vandals faced a tough opening stretch, with their first three games on the road, but they responded well with a pair of hard-fought victories.
The Vandals would then be forced into a change, with veteran leader Perrion Callandret going down with an injury. Sophomore Victor Sanders stepped up in a major way, carrying the team to a 2-1 record without Callandret, including one win at Montana, while averaging nearly 30 points per game.
The run would be short-lived, as Sanders also caught the injury bug and was forced to miss a long stretch midway through conference play.
This time one player didn't step up, but rather the whole team. The likes of Chad Sherwood, Nick Blair, Ty Egbert and Jake Straughan all made a mark in the absence of the team's top-two scorers, keeping Idaho in the all-important top-four in the Big Sky standings.
The Vandals would eventually get Callandret and Sanders back just in time to close out the regular season 6-1 and earn the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky Tournament.
Idaho took on familiar foe Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals in Reno and needed some help from across the roster to get the job done. The duo of Nate Sherwood and Arkadiy Mkrtychyan gave the Eagles fits on the inside, while point guard Pat Ingram stepped up his offensive game to the tune of a career-high 12 points. As had been the case all year, Jordan Scott made his biggest impact on the defensive end, blocking EWU's final shot attempt.
Idaho ran into a tough Montana squad that refused to quit in the semifinals. The Vandals hung in all game, but couldn't get past the veteran Grizzlies.
The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) came calling next, inviting Idaho to join the 16-team postseason tournament with an opening round game at Seattle U. The Vandals would fall in that game, but the experience gained will surely pay dividends for the squad moving forward.
Idaho loses three seniors heading into next season, with Nahshon George, Paulin Mpawe and Chris Sarbaugh graduating. The trio leaves a major void for the Vandals, as all three were integral in the team's success in 2015-16.
THE HISTORY
Idaho won 20-plus games for the first time since the 1992-93 season and finished with the ninth most collegiate wins in program history (21). The Vandals went 12-6 in the Big Sky Conference, earning the No. 3 seed in the BSC Tournament. The 12 wins are the most by a Vandals squad since the 1989-90 season.
The Vandals earned a bid to the CBI, marking the first postseason appearance since the 2011-12 season.
As a team, Idaho was dominant on the glass all season long. The Vandals finished the year 23rd in the nation in rebound margin at +7.2 per game. The squad was outrebounded just six times on the season and just once during the Big Sky season.
The 2015-16 season will hold several places in the Idaho record books. The Vandals made 549 free throws and 223 3-pointers, both the third best marks in program history. Idaho also scored 2372 total points on the year, the fifth best total ever. The Vandals handled business against New Hope, scoring a program-record 127 points in the rout.
Individually, Sanders posted the seventh best free throw percentage in program history at 84.8 percent and finished just outside the all-time top-10 with 69 3-pointers, earning All-Big Sky Second Team honors.
Head coach Don Verlin topped the 20-win plateau for the first time during his tenure at Idaho, finishing the year with 21 wins.
Sanders ended the year with the 44th best 3-point percentage in the nation and fifth best mark in the Big Sky at 41.6 percent. Sanders also cracked the top-250 in the country in free throw percentage, free throws made, 3-pointers per game and points per game.
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
