Slow start dooms Vandals

From news services

MOSCOW - Idaho shot just 9 of 28 from the floor in the first half and fell 79-74 to Northern Kentucky on Saturday night in nonconference men's basketball at Memorial Gym.

"We have to give them [NKU] credit," Idaho coach Don Verlin said. "They came in and shot 57 percent and drove the lane to get to the basket. We are putting way too much pressure on our offense. We just did not defend well enough tonight."

Perrion Callandret recorded a career-high of 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench for Idaho (2-3)in the first half. The sophomore hit four of the team's nine field goals in the half. Sekou Wiggs totaled six points in the first half on 2-of-8 shooting. NKU shot 14 for 26 (53.8 percent) in the opening half.

NKU (3-3) opened the second half with a 39-28 point lead. A Jalen Billups layup extended the lead to 12 59 seconds into the half. By the 17:44 mark the Norse had extended the lead to 47-33. Wiggs and Bira Seck each scored to cut the lead to 12, but each time NKU responded. A Tayler Persons layup with 16:40 to play put NKU back up by 14.

Idaho put together a quick 8-0 run over the next 1:53, cutting the NKU lead to 6 with 13:38 to go. Connor Hill ignited the offense with five of the eight points. Ty Egbert and Seck combined for the remaining three. A Seck layup with 12:57 to play got Idaho even closer at 53-47.

Hill drilled a 3 to cut NKU's lead to 67-66. Mike Scott tied the game for the first time at 68 with 2:33 to play. But NKU closed the game on an 11-6 run.

"We started playing a little tougher in the second half and ended up getting some stops," Verlin said. "We just did a better job of staying between our man and the basket. Simply put, we did not do a very good job of that in the first half. Once we started to do that we were able to get out on the fast break and hit some shots."

Hill scored 19 points in the second half, finishing with a team-high 22. Seck totaled a double-double in the half alone with 10 points and 10 boards. The senior from Senegal closed out the night with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Callandret and Wiggs finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

The Vandals play at Washington State on Wednesday (7 p.m., P12WA).

NORTHERN KENTUCKY (3-3)

C. Jackson 3-4 3-6 9, Persons 7-9 9-10 23, Camps 5-6 3-4 14, Billups 5-9 0-0 10, Murray 4-8 0-0 11, White 3-7 0-0 6, Cole 0-0 0-0 0, J. Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Giesler 0-1 3-6 3, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Monaco 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 28-49 18-26 79.

IDAHO (2-3)

Wiggs 5-13 4-7 14, Hill 5-10 8-10 22, M. Scott 1-6 2-4 4, Seck 6-8 0-0 12, Mkrtychyan 1-5 0-0 2, Callandret 5-8 2-2 15, Sanders 1-2 0-1 2, Mpawe 0-0 0-0 0, N. Sherwood 0-2 0-2 0, George 0-1 2-2 2, Egbert 0-1 1-1 1. Totals 24-56 19-29 74.

Halftime_Northern Kentucky 39-28. 3-Point Goals_Northern Kentucky 5-16 (Murray 3-7, Camps 1-1, Monaco 1-2, Giesler 0-1, J. Jackson 0-1, Johnson 0-1, White 0-3), Idaho 7-19 (Hill 4-9, Callandret 3-4, Sanders 0-1, N. Sherwood 0-1, Wiggs 0-1, M. Scott 0-3). Fouled Out_Callandret. Rebounds_Northern Kentucky 28 (C. Jackson 6), Idaho 35 (Seck 14). Assists_Northern Kentucky 5 (Persons 2), Idaho 11 (M. Scott 8). Total Fouls_Northern Kentucky 25, Idaho 24. A_227.