The Vandals have seen a trend in Western Athletic Conference play this season. They have followed each conference win with a two game losing streak.
That trend came to an end Saturday night.
After beating New Mexico State Thursday night, the Idaho men beat UT-Pan American in overtime, 70-63.
“It feels great, we got two in-a-row,” Stephen Madison said. “We had a rough first half of conference play, we just need to continue this in the second half and try to keep these wins coming.”
The win did not come easy. The Vandals struggled on offense, turning over the ball 21 times. It was also a cold shooting night. Idaho shot 44.3% from the field (27-61) and 18.2% from 3-pointer (4-22).
“There was a lid on the basket or something,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “For whatever reason, we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. I thought we had a number of good looks tonight. I was really happy with how hard we battled and found a way to win, when we did not play our best offensive game.”
Despite the horrid shooting night, Verlin said he still wanted his players to keep shooting.
“I mean, Connor Hill is going to break all the 3-point records in University of Idaho history, and Stephen Madison is arguably in the top 10 or 15 players in Idaho history,” Verlin said. “Of course I want them shooting. They’re good shooters, if you’re open, shoot them.”
In a crucial point of the game, where the Vandals trailed by three with a minute left in regulation, it was a Stephen Madison 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime.
“That’s probably as big as shot as I remember him making,” Verlin said. “He has made a few of them, but that one was a big one.”
This was the third overtime period between the two teams. The two went into double overtime the first time they met down in Edinbrug, Texas — a Vandal win.
The Vandals continued to hit shots in overtime. Going 2-for-2 from 3-point, ultimately leading them to 14 points in overtime, giving them a seven point win.
Even with the poor offensive display, Verlin still rates this game rather high.
“You don’t ever want to talk bad about a win,” Verlin said. “So its gotta be an A, because we don’t have enough of those wins.”
Idaho will look to carry on their momentum Feb. 1 when it travels down to Cal-State Bakersfield to take on the Roadrunners.