Early hole too much for Idaho
From wire and news services
MOSCOW — A 57-point second half made things interesting, but Idaho was unable to overcome a 25-point first half deficit, falling to Weber State 93-87 on Monday afternoon.
Weber State (8-5, 2-0 Big Sky) came out hot and never looked back. The Wildcats opened a 15-5 lead early and maintained their double-digit advantage the rest of the frame, taking the 52-30 lead into the break.
Idaho (3-10, 0-2) flipped the script in the second half. Idaho was able to chip away at the deficit over the game’s final 10 minutes, with Cameron Tyson making it a nine-point game at 81-72 with 2:45 to play. The Vandals kept up the pressure and were able to keep chipping away, eventually getting to within five points at 89-84 with 21 seconds to play, but ran out of time in the end.
Tyson finished the night with a game-high 27, going 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Tyson now has 46 triples on the season, one behind former Post Falls and Vandal standout Connor Hill for the most ever by a freshman at Idaho.
Trevon Allen added 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting for Idaho, and Jared Rodriguez chipped in with 19 points and four boards.
“We did some good things in the second half,” Vandals coach Don Verlin said. “We just have to continue to be patient and continue to grow. I think we grew a lot in the second half.”
The annual doubleheader with Eastern Washington is up next for Idaho. The Eagles come to Moscow on Thursday, with the women’s game tipping off at 5:15 p.m. and the men following at approximately 7:30 The latter game will be televised live on SWX.
WEBER ST. 93, IDAHO 87
WEBER ST. (8-5)
Chapman 7-13 6-6 21, Braxton 5-6 8-12 18, Barnes 3-5 0-0 8, John 3-7 4-4 11, Harding 7-14 8-9 24, Kozak 1-2 0-0 2, Nero 2-6 0-0 6, Nelson 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-54 26-31 93.
IDAHO (3-10)
Rodriguez 5-12 7-8 19, Smits-Francisco 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 11-15 0-0 24, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Garvin 0-2 0-0 0, Blakney 3-5 1-1 7, Samb 3-5 1-1 7, Kamara 0-0 0-0 0, Tyson 8-15 5-5 27, Smith 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 30-56 17-19 87.
Halftime—Weber St. 52-30. 3-Point Goals—Weber St. 9-22 (Nero 2-2, Barnes 2-3, Harding 2-6, Nelson 1-1, John 1-4, Chapman 1-5, Kozak 0-1), Idaho 10-19 (Tyson 6-12, Rodriguez 2-2, Allen 2-4, Garvin 0-1). Fouled Out—Smits-Francisco, Blakney. Rebounds—Weber St. 28 (Chapman 10), Idaho 23 (Rodriguez 4). Assists—Weber St. 15 (John, Nelson, Braxton 3), Idaho 11 (Allen, Garvin 3). Total Fouls—Weber St. 18, Idaho 23. A—512 (7,000).
Eastern Washington 65, Idaho State 55
CHENEY — The Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team held Idaho State to just 22 second-half points and concluded a four-game homestand with a Big Sky Conference victory over the Bengals on Monday.
In a battle that featured seven lead changes and a pair of ties in the last 15:53 of the game, Eastern (3-10, 1-1 Big Sky) pulled away in the final 3:30 with a 9-0 run. The Eagles forced ISU (5-6, 1-1) into four turnovers and 1-of-5 shooting in the last 3:23 with the game on the line, then sank 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute to clinch the victory.
It was Eastern’s best defensive performance of the season, with the previous low opponent point total 66 in EWU’s season opener at Syracuse. The Eagles allowed Weber State to score 84 in the league opener on Saturday for both teams.
“To be honest, this was a must-win for us,” said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. “We have some of the best players in the league, and it’s tough to be 2-10. But we are competitors. This was a huge game for us to get this win.”
Eastern junior Mason Peatling paced four Eagles in double figures with 16 points, including a key three-point play with 2:53 left to give EWU its biggest lead of the game at the time. Jacob Davison followed with another big basket at the 1:26 mark on his way to finishing with 15 points. Jesse Hunt finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Ty Gibson came off the bench to hit a trio of key 3-pointers and score 11 in the game.
E. WASHINGTON 65, IDAHO ST. 55
IDAHO ST. (5-6)
Maker 0-3 0-2 0, Jones 6-10 0-0 12, Mocsan 6-12 0-0 17, Boyd 4-13 1-2 9, Stutzman 1-4 1-1 4, Udengwu 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 2-2 0-0 4, Sutton 0-0 0-0 0, Dowd 0-1 0-0 0, Smellie 0-0 0-0 0, Chivichyan 3-6 1-1 9. Totals 22-53 3-6 55.
E. WASHINGTON (3-10)
Peatling 7-9 1-1 16, Hunt 6-12 0-0 12, Benzel 1-7 0-0 3, Vulikic 1-4 0-0 2, Davison 7-14 1-2 15, Gibson 3-4 2-2 11, Beo 0-1 0-0 0, Kidd 1-5 4-4 6, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 8-9 65.
Halftime—Idaho St. 33-29. 3-Point Goals—Idaho St. 8-24 (Mocsan 5-10, Chivichyan 2-4, Stutzman 1-3, Maker 0-2, Boyd 0-5), E. Washington 5-15 (Gibson 3-3, Peatling 1-1, Benzel 1-6, Kidd 0-1, Hunt 0-1, Davison 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Idaho St. 29 (Jones 9), E. Washington 28 (Hunt 9). Assists—Idaho St. 10 (Dowd 3), E. Washington 13 (Hunt 5). Total Fouls—Idaho St. 13, E. Washington 13. A—1,011 (6,000).