Vandals clinch spot in WAC tourney

MOSCOW (AP) - Kashif Watson and former North Idaho College standout Mac Hopson scored 17 points apiece to lead Idaho to an 86-76 victory against San Jose State on Thursday night.

The Vandals (14-15, 5-10) clinched a spot in the Western Athletic Conference tournament next week.

"This win's huge," Idaho coach Don Verlin said.

Idaho had a 22-point lead with 13:28 remaining when San Jose State's Adrian Oliver woke up. He hit four 3-pointers to spark a comeback that left the Spartans (14-15, 6-9) trailing 78-69 with 1:53 to play.

The Spartans pulled within seven, but ran out of time as Idaho went 6 of 10 from the free throw line in the final 1:30.

Marvin Jefferson added 15 points and guard Steffan Johnson 10 for the Vandals.

Oliver had 24 points for San Jose State.

C.J. Webster added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans. Justin Graham had 12 points and Mac Peterson 10.

Jefferson also sparked on defense for Idaho, taking three charges in the first half.

"I thought he changed the whole flow of the game," Verlin said.

SAN JOSE ST. (14-15)

Oliver 8-19 4-5 24, Graham 5-6 2-3 12, Owens 3-11 0-0 9, Oakes 0-0 2-2 2, Peterson 3-7 2-2 10, Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Moor 0-0 0-0 0, Webster 7-10 3-7 17, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Henson 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 13-19 76.

IDAHO (14-15)

Hopson 4-8 8-12 17, Johnson 3-7 1-1 10, de Souza 4-6 0-0 8, Watson 5-8 6-10 17, Jefferson 7-12 1-1 15, Henderson 2-5 2-4 6, Lawrence 1-1 0-0 3, Toledo 1-3 0-2 2, Barone 3-4 2-2 8. Totals 30-54 20-32 86.

Halftime-Idaho 45-27. 3-Point Goals-San Jose St. 9-22 (Oliver 4-8, Owens 3-9, Peterson 2-5), Idaho 6-11 (Johnson 3-6, Watson 1-1, Hopson 1-1, Lawrence 1-1, de Souza 0-2). Fouled Out-Oakes, Peterson. Rebounds-San Jose St. 27 (Webster 9), Idaho 34 (Watson 8). Assists-San Jose St. 10 (Graham 4), Idaho 18 (Watson 7). Total Fouls-San Jose St. 21, Idaho 14. Technical-Barone. A-961.