Idaho offense impresses in first exhibition game of season
With six lead changes and eight tie games, Idaho and Simon Fraser gave the fans who opted to spend their Halloween night in the Memorial Gym quite the show Friday night.
Senior guard Connor Hill shoots a 3-pointer during Idaho’s 139-115 win against Simon Fraser Friday at Memorial Gym. Hill was 9-of-12 from three-point range and led the team with 31 points total in the win. The Vandals play Lewis-Clark State Friday at Memorial Gym.
Led by the sharpshooting of senior guard Connor Hill, the Vandals offense started hot and stayed hot en route to an eye-opening 139-115 victory.
The Post Falls native started the game by scoring 10 of Idaho’s first 14 points. He didn’t cool off either, finishing the night with a team-leading 31 points on a 10-of-15 shooting night, including 9-of-12 from three point range in just 23 minutes.
“In every game that you hit your first couple of shots you just get in a rhythm,” Hill said. “But I’ve had games where I started out 0-for-8 from three — you just got to keep shooting.”
The Vandals have one more exhibition game Friday at Memorial Gym against Lewis-Clark State before starting the regular season Nov. 14 when they host Eastern Oregon.
In total, Idaho had 12 different players see minutes, and six of those 12 ended up scoring in double figures. Idaho coach Don Verlin said he initially didn’t intend for the minutes to break down how they did, but with a few players getting into foul trouble and sophomore guard Perrion Callandret going down with cramps, he had no choice.
However, the high-flying offense isn’t something the Vandals have ran with Verlin, nor was it what he intended. Simon Fraser came out strong on offense and the Vandals had to adjust on the fly to their pressure, but they did so positively, he said.
For as good as the offense looked, the defense was the opposite.
“We are not quite there yet — our defense was horrendous,” Hill said. “They were hitting shots and I thought we were playing hard, but our defense wasn’t good enough, so that is something we are going to have to adjust to and work on every day.”
The defense did tighten up. After giving up 70 points during the first 20 minutes, it held the Clan to 45 points in the second half.
The game also showcased the skills of Idaho’s senior point guard Mike Scott. The Los Angeles native had a final stat line that any point guard would be proud of — 12 points and 12 assists and he was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Many of those assists came off of his slashing ability in the lane that resulted in teammates being open on the perimeter.
The team has athletes to run the up-tempo offense if need be, but they need to play with that same tempo and intensity on defense, he said.
Along with Hill’s shooting, the Vandals got a huge spark off the bench by redshirt freshman and former walk-on Chad Sherwood. He came out firing midway through the first half, and much like Hill, he didn’t cool off. Despite playing just 14 minutes, he scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
“I am so happy for Chad,” Hill said. “He shot the ball extremely well and he played good on D — he is a good player, I go against him every day in practice and he makes me better.”
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Senior point guard Mike Scott dribbles through full-court pressure during Idaho’s 139-115 win against Simon Fraser Friday at Memorial Gym. Scott had 12 points and 12 assists on the night.
Having guys like Hill and Sherwood who can knock down open looks at the perimeter as well as big men who can finish at the rim gave Scott a number of ways to attack the opposition.
The improved play by the big men really showed on Friday, as the Vandals outscored the Clan in the paint 52-36 and out rebounded them 50-31. They also won the battle of second chance points 21-15.
Having a point guard like Scott and guys like sophomore point guard Sekou Wiggs and Callandret who are good at driving to the lane and finding the open man on the perimeter makes shooting from long range that much easier, Hill said.
Despite coming off a successful junior season, Scott said he still has something to prove.
“I felt like I really can do this,” Scott said. “I feel like I have some doubters on the outside, but I am ready to show them.”
Along with Sherwood, freshmen Victor Sanders and Jordan Scott both performed well off the bench as well, Verlin said.
As a team, the Vandals shot an impressive 34-of-45 from the free throw line, including 13-of-16 from Wiggs, who shot a mere 65.8 percent from the charity stripe last year coming off the bench.
“Sekou is a hard worker, he shoots a lot of free throws and he has worked his tail off to become a better free throw shooter,” Verlin said.
Another change from last year was the improved game from Hill outside of the well-known long-range game. Friday night, he made a few nifty moves into the lane.
“I am trying to be an all-around player,” Hill said. “I have to do that if I want to be the best that I can be … People are going to fly at me, so I have got to make them pay by going inside sometimes.”
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]