IRVINE, Calif. – The new-look Vandals showed some fight on Tuesday night in the season opener, but eventually the veteran UC Irvine squad took over and claimed the 86-68 win.
 
THE GAME
 
The fresh faces weren't intimated by the moment and jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game.  The teams went back-and-forth for most of the first half, with Idaho closing strong to take the 34-30 lead into the break.
 
The 'Eaters came out aggressive in the second half and took a lead of their own.  Jared Rodriguez gave Idaho a 49-48 advantage early in the second half, before a long spurt from UC Irvine squandered the young Vandals' hopes at an upset.  The Anteaters stayed in control late, eventually taking the 86-68 win.
 
Idaho shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from beyond the arc, but just 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the floor.  UCI finished the night 34-of-63 (54.0%) from the floor and 8-of-20 (40.0%) from range.
 
Rodriguez led the way with 18 points, while Cameron Tyson added 17.  Marquell Fraser also had a strong debut, finishing with eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
THE NAME
 
Cameron Tyson.  Tyson went off in the first half, scoring 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.  He would go on to finish with 17 points, the third most ever by a freshman in a Vandal season-opener under Don Verlin.
 
THE NOTES
 
Idaho moves to 7-4 in season-openers under Verlin.
 
Rodriguez finished with 18 points, tying Arkadiy Mkrtychyan for the most points by a freshman in a season-opener under Verlin.
 
Seven student-athletes made their Vandal debuts, with five making their collegiate debuts.
 
The Vandals were outrebounded, 42-22.  It is the first time since Verlin's first year with the Vandals that Idaho posted a minus-20 rebound margin.
 
THE QUOTES – DON VERLIN
 
"Very disappointed in the result, but was really happy with our effort.  Irvine is a very good basketball team, a very big basketball team.  With us being so young, I thought we had a lot of guys step up."
 
"In terms of effort, this is the best we've been this year, including practice.  What we need to do is play this hard and this united every night.  And then we need to clean up the details.  We made some very basic mistakes that we need to clean up."
 
"Jared worked extremely hard during his redshirt year.  He played behind some really good players last year and really took advantage of that during his redshirt year.  He was really active and was able to knock down his shots.  He's a multidimensional guy, he's exactly what we thought he'd be when we recruited him."
 
"Cameron is the most ready to play freshman I've ever had here at the University of Idaho.  Connor Hill beware.  Cameron is an unbelievable shooter, he's a great kid who works extremely hard."
 
NEXT
 
Idaho hosts Nicholls State on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym.  Tickets are on sale now at GoVandals.com/Tickets.  Season tickets and four-game packs are also on sale.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter, @VandalHoops.  Ticket packages are on sale at GoVandals.com/Tickets.

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.