Hill guides Vandals to win
From news services
CHICAGO - Connor Hill, Idaho's most prolific 3-point shooter, connected on 7-of-9 3s and the Idaho men's basketball team hung on for a 79-76 win at Chicago State on Thursday night.
Hill finished with 27 points, two shy of his career-high, with his fourth game of seven-or-more 3-pointres this season. Stephen Madison had a 17-point, 10 rebound double-double and Sekou Wiggs added 16 points off the bench for the Vandals. Mike Scott had nine assists and just two turnovers while scoring seven points in the game.
"I thought we played with a lot of energy and intensity, especially in the first half," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "Our ball really moved well tonight, we got a lot of easy looks in transition. For about 30 minutes of this game we really dominated them."
Idaho had 18 assists on 25 made field goals in the game but 19 turnovers, allowing the Cougars to hang around. Hill's seventh and final 3-pointer gave the Vandals a 51-34 lead with 17:13 to play, but from there on out, the Cougars outscored the Vandals 42-28 to give the Vandals all they could handle.
"Hill hit a number of open shots and we did a very nice job early in the game executing our offense," Verlin said. "We were ready for everything they threw at us with their traps and different defenses."
CSU pulled within one at 72-71 with 2:13 to play and after Wiggs hit one of two free throws, the Cougars missed four consecutive free throw attempts, allowing the Vandals to hang on to the lead. Idaho hit six free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch the victory.
The Vandals improve to 13-17 on the season and 6-9 in Western Athletic Conference play with the win, while Chicago State drops to 12-18 and 7-8 in WAC play.
Hill's seven 3-pointers are tied for the fifth most in a game in Idaho history, and it's the second time he's done it this season in addition to his game with eight 3-pointers on Feb. 18.
Idaho concludes the regular season at Kansas City on Saturday.
IDAHO (13-17)
Seck 1-1 0-0 2, Madison 5-13 6-9 17, Kammerer 3-4 0-0 6, Hill 9-11 2-2 27, M. Scott 2-8 2-2 7, Dean 0-4 0-0 0, Wiggs 3-7 10-13 16, Callandret 1-1 0-1 2, Mpawe 0-0 0-1 0, Egbert 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-50 20-28 79.
CHICAGO ST. (12-18)
Denard 2-4 0-2 4, Pippen 4-12 6-6 16, Ross 10-13 4-6 25, Muhammad 0-0 0-0 0, Rosenberg 2-7 0-0 4, Gray 5-9 2-5 14, Griffin 1-4 2-4 4, Dimakos 2-3 1-2 6, Duhon 1-3 1-4 3. Totals 27-55 16-29 76.
Halftime_Idaho 44-30. 3-Point Goals_Idaho 9-18 (Hill 7-9, Madison 1-3, M. Scott 1-4, Dean 0-2), Chicago St. 6-19 (Gray 2-5, Pippen 2-8, Dimakos 1-2, Ross 1-4). Fouled Out_Seck. Rebounds_Idaho 36 (Madison 10), Chicago St. 28 (Ross 8). Assists_Idaho 18 (M. Scott 9), Chicago St. 14 (Duhon 4). Total Fouls_Idaho 25, Chicago St. 23. A_926.