Vandals sparked by Barone
MOSCOW - Idaho senior center Kyle Barone had the best shooting performance in Idaho history, but his assist on a crucial 3-pointer with 1:00 remaining was the biggest play in Idaho's 74-70 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball win over UTSA on Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum.
Barone went 10 of 10 from the floor to break Idaho's single-game field goal percentage record and finished with game highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds, along with three blocks and two assists. Senior guard Mike McChristian was 0 for 3 from long range before a driving Barone found him in the corner for a wide-open 3 late in the shot clock. McChristian drained it to give the Vandals a 69-65 lead with a minute to play.
"I had missed my previous three 3-point attempts to that point, but I just wanted to make sure I stepped up and still was confident while shooting it," McChristian said. "That late in the shot clock, you don't really have much of an option."
On the ensuing possession, Barone came up big on defense with a swat on a Michael Hale III 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play, then ran the floor to earn a transition layup that put Idaho ahead by six, 71-65. Sophomore guard and former Post Falls High standout Connor Hill sank 3 of 4 free throws to close out the win.
Idaho moves to 8-11 overall and 4-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, while UTSA slips to 5-14 overall and 1-8 in league play.
“It feels great to win a close game, no question about it,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said after the game. “It was nice to see our guys make some plays down the stretch to win the ball game.”
Despite UTSA going 7 of 15 (.467) from long range in the second half, Verlin said he thought the defense put forth a solid effort by limiting the Roadrunners to just two offensive rebounds and by limiting their easy shot opportunities.
“Even though they make seven threes (in the half), I thought we did a pretty good job defending it,” Verlin said. “And when we got them defended, we rebounded the shots.”
In addition to Barone’s stat line, Hill went 4 of 9 from 3-point range and finished with 15 points, while junior guard Stephen Madison went 6 of 10 from the field and sparked Idaho with 11 of his 13 points in the first half. McChristian scored just five points in the game, but added four rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers.
Hale III, a former standout at North Idaho College, led UTSA with 21 points and seven assists on 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
Idaho held a 38-24 rebounding edge in the game.
Barone’s 10-of-10 shooting performance bested the previous record by one field goal. Phil Hopson went 9 of 9 from the floor against Boise State on Jan. 30, 1982, and then Tanoris Shepard posted a matching 9-of-9 night on Nov. 26, 2002, against Montana Western.
“I had no idea until I just looked at it right now,” Barone said of his shooting performance. “My teammates really got me some easy shots tonight — I don’t think I’ve ever not missed a shot in my life.”
It was a historic night for Barone on multiple levels. In addition to passing Hopson’s single-game percentage record, Barone also jumped Hopson into fourth in Idaho’s career rebounds list (763) and seventh on its career points list (1,234).
With a pair of home games next week, Verlin said Thursday’s game against Utah State and Saturday’s matchup with San Jose State will be key if Idaho wants to climb back into the top tier of the WAC. The injury-bitten Aggies have lost three games in a row, but Verlin said he’s expecting a strong challenge on Thursday.
“(Utah State coach Stew Morrill) has won 580 games or whatever and they’re not going to come in here and lay down,” Verlin said. “I can’t ever remember him losing four in a row. He’ll come in with his guys ready to play, he’ll come in here with a trick or two— there’s a lot of pride in that program.”
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (5-14)
Thomas 3-10 2-2 10, Wilkins 2-5 0-0 4, Hale III 6-14 4-6 21, Burrage 5-15 3-3 16, Sims 3-7 0-0 9, McGregor 4-6 2-2 10, Wood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 11-13 70.
IDAHO (8-11)
Harris Jr. 2-7 0-0 6, C. Hill 4-11 3-4 15, McChristian 2-5 0-0 5, Barone 10-10 5-6 25, Madison 6-10 0-0 13, Douglas 0-0 0-0 0, Habeeb 0-4 5-8 5, Borton 1-2 0-0 3, Kammerer 1-1 0-0 2, Faines 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 13-18 74.
Halftime_Tied 38-38. 3-Point Goals_Texas-San Antonio 13-28 (Hale III 5-11, Sims 3-6, Burrage 3-7, Thomas 2-4), Idaho 9-20 (C. Hill 4-9, Harris Jr. 2-3, Madison 1-2, Borton 1-2, McChristian 1-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Texas-San Antonio 24 (Sims 11), Idaho 38 (Barone 16). Assists_Texas-San Antonio 11 (Hale III 7), Idaho 19 (McChristian 7). Total Fouls_Texas-San Antonio 11, Idaho 11. A_1,139.