Vandals notch first WAC win in 2OT
From wire and news services
EDINBURG, Texas - Perrion Callandret's buzzer-beating baseline layup gave Idaho a thrilling 86-85 double-overtime victory over Texas-Pan American on Thursday night in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball action.
Both teams had chances to seize the game in regulation and overtime, but after four Vandal players fouled out and UTPA held a five-point advantage with less than a minute to play, it appeared the Broncs would pull away.
Instead, Idaho freshman Sekou Wiggs connected on four consecutive free throws, with a UTPA turnover in between, to pull the Vandals within 84-83 with 33 seconds to play. UTPA's Shaquille Boga went 1-for-2 at the free throw line with 30 seconds left.
Connor Hill missed a deep 3-point attempt but Paulin Mpawe was fouled while securing the offensive rebound, and he made the first of his two free throw attempts, closing the gap to 85-84. Wiggs grabbed another offensive board for the Vandals off the miss of Mpawe's second free throw attempt, and Idaho had three seconds to try to win the game.
After UTPA's timeout, Callandret drove the baseline and got the contested shot to fall with 0.5 seconds left.
The Vandals (7-10, 1-2 WAC) had lost by two points or less in two of its previous three games, and another one-point defeat just three weeks before that.
"I couldn't be happier, especially for the guys in the locker room," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "When you lose games like that, they rip your hearts out, and it can be hard to get the pieces back together. Our guys hung together all night long and fought. At the end, we had four of our five starters fouled out. It's hard to win on the road in the WAC, and when you miss as many free throws as we did, it makes it even harder. But what a great way to find a way to win and get our first WAC road win of the season."
Javorn Farrell had 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists for UTPA (4-13, 0-2).
Hill, a junior from Post Falls High, led all scorers with 28 points on 7-of-15 shooting from 3-point range. Stephen Madison recorded 19 points, 14 rebounds and four assists before fouling out and Glen Dean added 13 points and four assists. Wiggs finished with 12 points, aided by a 10-of-13 performance at the free throw line. Hill seven 3-pointers bring his Idaho career record up to 180 made 3s.
Idaho led 1-0 before the opening tip was even tossed, as UTPA was called for a team technical foul for dunking during pregame warm-ups and Dean hit one of the two free throws.
After trading baskets to open the second overtime, UTPA went on a 6-0 run to take control of the game, leading 81-75 with two minutes left. Hill then hit his seventh 3-pointer of the game to give Idaho life before the Broncs built the lead back to five at 84-79 with less than a minute to play. That's when Wiggs' free throws and Callandret's clutch shot down the stretch gave Idaho the win.
Idaho travels to New Mexico State on Saturday (5 p.m., Root Sports).
IDAHO (7-10)
Seck 0-0 0-0 0, Madison 6-19 6-10 19, Kammerer 2-4 0-0 4, Dean 4-10 3-6 13, Hill 10-18 1-2 28, Wiggs 1-4 10-13 12, Callandret 1-1 0-0 2, M. Scott 3-8 0-1 6, Mpawe 0-0 2-4 2, Jiles IV 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 22-36 86.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN (4-13)
Toivonen 1-1 4-4 6, Hines 7-13 5-9 19, Leathers 0-4 2-2 2, Farrell 5-14 12-14 22, Boga 7-15 3-5 19, Raspopovich 0-0 0-0 0, Provost 0-0 0-0 0, Dantzler 4-6 1-6 10, Cleveland 1-3 1-4 3, Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Majewski 0-1 0-0 0, Hildebrandt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-63 28-44 85.
Halftime_Idaho 36-34. End Of Regulation_Tied 67. End Of 1st Overtime_Tied 73. 3-Point Goals_Idaho 10-30 (Hill 7-15, Dean 2-6, Madison 1-6, M. Scott 0-3), Texas-Pan American 3-12 (Boga 2-5, Dantzler 1-1, Farrell 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Leathers 0-3). Fouled Out_Cleveland, Dean, Kammerer, Leathers, Madison, Seck, Toivonen. Rebounds_Idaho 49 (Madison 14), Texas-Pan American 44 (Farrell 17). Assists_Idaho 16 (Dean, Madison 4), Texas-Pan American 15 (Farrell 7). Total Fouls_Idaho 31, Texas-Pan American 30. Technical_Texas-Pan American Bench. A_624.