The Idaho men’s basketball team kicked off the holiday season with some cheer Tuesday night.
A strong defensive performance aided the Vandals in holding UC Davis to 20 first-half points, as Idaho emerged with 68-51 victory on the road over the Aggies.
“Boy I really like the way this team played tonight,” said Idaho head coach Don Verlin. “I thought we played with a lot of energy and a lot of passion.”
Idaho (8-5) started the game on a 7-0 run, after forcing back-to-back Aggie turnovers.
The Vandals then capitalized on a six-minute scoring drought for UC Davis by extending the lead to 18-8 midway through the first half.
Junior guard Darius Graham led the way for UC Davis (4-6) in the first half with seven points. Sophomore forward Nolan Berry added another four points and two rebounds for the Aggies.
Junior guard Perrion Callandret sparked the Vandals offense with 14 first-half points, while sophomore guard Victor Sanders added another 10.
Idaho shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, converting 13 of 26 shots. The Vandals also forced 12 turnovers and recorded 18 points as a result of turnovers.
Idaho entered halftime with a 38-20 lead.
The two programs began the second half of play by exchanging a series of baskets. But the Vandals eventually stretched the lead to 23 points, after sophomore forward Arkadiy Mkrtychyan made a free throw with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Freshman guard Siler Schneider responded for UC Davis with a three-point basket, but the Vandals held onto a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, despite a shooting streak of 1-9 down the stretch.
UC Davis ended the game with a three minute scoring drought, as the team missed the five final shots before the buzzer.
Mkrtychyan’s presence in the post proved to be an important component for Idaho’s offense. The Vandals finished the game with a total of 30 points in the paint.
“For the first time since Arkadiy got hurt, we saw the guy that we thought we’d have all year long,” Verlin said.
Callandret led all scorers with 18 points, while Mkrtychyan finished with 12. Senior forward Nahshon George collected seven rebounds for Idaho while Egbert added another six.
UC Davis shot 59.4 percent from the free throw line, converting 19 of 32 attempts. The Vandals also held the Aggies to a 26.7 shooting percentage from three-point range.
“We’re a group that’s not playing well and not executing well, and it’s probably good that we are heading into a break,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les.
Idaho will begin conference play on the road against North Dakota on Dec. 31 at 4 p.m.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom