FRESNO, Calif. – The Idaho men's basketball team fell to Fresno State, 69-62, on Monday night.
"I love the fact that our guys competed throughout in spite of a couple of runs by them where it kind of knocked us on our heels," said head coach Zac Claus. "I thought the guys did a really good job of rallying around one another and continuing to stick to what we were trying to accomplish."
Mikey Dixon added his third double-digit game of the season to lead Idaho with 15 points and three assists. It was an all-around team effort coming from the Vandal offense, as eight Vandals appearing in the scoring column.
The first offensive possession of the game for Idaho started with
Trevante Anderson at the free-throw line after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. The Tacoma, Washington native knocked down all three to get the Vandals off and running. The next 10 minutes of action saw Fresno State gain an advantage and carry a 26-19 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.
In moments where it looked as if the Bulldogs would pull away, the Vandals answered with timely baskets and defensive stops to stay within striking distance all night. One of those moments came from freshman
Yusef Salih with a 3-point basket to cut the deficit to four points with 3:39 remaining in the first half.
It was the second basket from behind the arc for Salih, as he would finish the game 3-for-3 from three with nine points on the night.
Idaho continued to answer whatever Fresno State would throw their way throughout the remainder of the half as the Vandals found themselves down 31-26. The Vandals shot 44% from the field and forced the Bulldogs into eight turnovers in the half.
The Vandals continued to make timely plays on both ends of the floor to keep the score within two possessions (61-55) with under five minutes remaining. The Vandals were unable to keep the Bulldogs off the glass and that ultimately helped Fresno State earn the victory, 69-62.
The Bulldogs outrebounded Idaho 41 to 22.
Idaho returns to ICCU Arena on Thursday at 6 p.m. to face Washington State for the 114th meeting between the two programs.
"It's going to be a special night," said Claus. "Our guys will look forward to this challenge. It will make it an added bonus to be playing inside the ICCU Arena with the electricity that has already been in there for our initial games. I know that coach (Kyle) Smith will have his team dialed in and ready to go and I know our guys will be up for the challenge."
