MOSCOW, Idaho – "The effort was there."  Don Verlin is finally seeing things come together for his young Vandals despite the 67-65 loss against Portland State at home on Thursday night.
 
THE GAME
 
Idaho was the aggressor early, beating the Portland State press and getting good looks.  The Vandals shared the ball well early, with seven guys getting a bucket in the first half, and six getting multiple.  Idaho would get up by as many as nine in the first half, and took a 36-29 advantage into the locker room.
 
Portland State chipped away for much of the second half, but Idaho was able to stay ahead with clutch 3-pointers from the likes of Cameron Tyson, Trevon Allen and RayQuawndis Mitchell.  The Vikings would eventually take over, but things remained incredibly close throughout.  Neither team was up by more than a field goal inside of the final 10 minutes of action, save for Portland State going up by four for 13 seconds with under six minutes to play.
 
Idaho reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer from Tyson with 3:11 to play, up 62-60.  The Vikings scored four straight from there to go back up by two.  The Vikings handled business at the line, but the Vandals still had a chance to tie with the ball and five seconds left, but Allen's last-second shot rimmed out to give PSU the 67-65 win.
 
THE NAME
 
Cassius Smits-Francisco.  Smits-Francisco had a strong night, scoring nine points and grabbing 11 boards, his highest totals against Division I opponents this season.
 
THE NOTES
 
Idaho falls to 4-24, including 1-16 in the Big Sky.  Portland State moves to 14-14 overall and 9-8 in the Big Sky.  Portland State, Eastern Washington and Southern Utah are all currently tied for fifth at 9-8.  The Vandals will face the No. 6 seed at 2:30 p.m. Mountain on Wednesday, March 13 in Boise.
 
Idaho led at the half for the first time since taking Northern Colorado to overtime in January.  Idaho's lead of nine points was also its largest since the first Northern Colorado game.
 
Tyson connected on three 3's, giving him 92 on the year, and moving him into a tie for 25^th in single-season Big Sky history.  The Big Sky record for 3's in a season is 132, set by Jeremy Senglin in 2016-17.
 
Idaho committed 19 turnovers to just 12 by Portland State.  The Vandals did win the rebound battle, 40-36.
 
THE QUOTES
 
 
 
The Vandals close out the home schedule against Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Cowan Spectrum.
 
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.