PULLMAN, Wash. – The Idaho (0-3) men's basketball team was edged, 61-58, by Washington State (4-0) on Wednesday evening in the Battle of the Palouse. The Vandals led by six points at the half.

THE GAME
The Vandals won the opening tip and Scott Blakney immediately got the visitors on the board with a bucket down low. After a back-and-forth opening five minutes, Chance Garvin nailed a three-pointer with 14:34 to play in the first to give Idaho a 10-8 lead, a lead which the Vandals would hold until halftime. With just over five minutes left, Hunter-Jack Madden sunk a jumper from the top of the key. He tallied a steal in the next possession, scoring a lay-up to finish the play and give Idaho their biggest lead of the game/half, 25-14. The Vandals took a 29-23 lead into the break.
 
For the first five minutes of the second half, the Vandals kept the Cougs at arm's length, but with 14:49 remaining, WSU began a 19-0 run and led, 46-36, with 9:19 to play. Idaho would not go away easily, however. With just over two minutes left in the game, Damen Thacker hit a trey to bring the visitors within three points, 57-54. A scoreless minute later, Thacker made a jumper to cut the deficit to one. Isaac Bonton, who would finish with 17 points for WSU, responded with a jumper to put the home side back up by three. After Blakney had a dunk to get within one again, the Vandals fouled the Cougs. Noah Williams hit both his free throws, and on their final possession, Idaho was unable to knock a shot down. Washington State won this season's edition of the Battle of the Palouse, 61-58.
 
THE NOTES
This is the longest running rivalry west of the Mississippi, with the Vandals and Cougars meeting every year since 1906.
 
DeAndre Robison finished in double figures for the second consecutive game. He tallied 14 points to lead the Vandals, and also pulled down a game-high eight boards.
 
Hunter-Jack Madden scored 13 points, which is a new best in his short Vandal career so far. He was 3-for-3 from the free throw line, and is now 12-for-12 on the year.
 
Scott Blakney recorded 12 points, and has now scored 12 points in all three games.
 
Idaho recorded 12 assists in the game and has now tallied double digit assists in all three games.
 
The Vandals were outrebounded, 39-31.
 
Idaho's bench scored 13 points, all scored by Madden. WSU's bench scored just three points.
 
The Vandals won the turnover battle. They scored 22 points off 17 Cougar turnovers. WSU scored 13 points off 14 Idaho turnovers.  
 
Idaho shot 37.7 percent (23-for-61) from the floor, while Washington State was 20-for-47 (42.6 percent). The Vandals were 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Cougs were 5-for-11 (45.5 percent).
 
THE NAME
DeAndre Robinson. Robinson reached double figures for the second consecutive game. He finished with a team-high 14 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. He also had two assists and a steal in 32 minutes.

THE QUOTES – Zac Claus


UP NEXT
The Vandals remain on the road, traveling to California to play CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, December 12. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 1 p.m.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter and Instagram, @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.