The defensive determination of the men’s basketball team proved to be a major key Thursday night as the team defeated Southern Utah 68-44 Thursday in Cedar City.
The victory marked Idaho’s seventh road win and improves the team’s record to 6-4 in the Big Sky Conference and 14-9 overall.
Despite playing without lead guards Perrion Callandret and Victor Sanders, the Vandals put on a strong offensive performance. Six different Vandal players scored at least eight points.
Senior guard Chris Sarbaugh ended the night with eight points and shot 4-5 from the field.
Sarbaugh led the Vandals in rebounds with six, as Idaho outrebounded Southern Utah 37-23.
Sophomore forward Arkadiy Mkrtychyan was also 4-5 from the field and provided 10 points for the Vandals.
Junior forward Ty Egbert continued to impress from the post position. Egbert led Idaho in scoring with 12 points while earned two blocks and four rebounds.
The game marks the third occasion that Egbert has scored over 10 points in his last five starts.
Freshman small forward Nick Blair played multiple positions and contributed 10 points, notching five rebounds and two assists.
Junior point guard Pat Ingram finished with three assists for Idaho.
The Vandal offense converted on several early scoring opportunities to take control of the contest. Sarbaugh’s aggressive play gave Idaho an early 6-2 lead as the senior provided two consecutive layups.
The Thunderbird offense began to find consistency near the end of the first half when Idaho turned over the ball four times in a five-minute span. Idaho ended the half with seven turnovers, compared to Southern Utah’s six.
Southern Utah junior guard Juwan Major hit a jump shot to tie the game at 20-20 late in the period.
Sophomore guard Chad Sherwood showcased his strong presence on the perimeter for the Vandals by draining two straight shots behind the arc. The conversions kept Idaho in front of the Thunderbirds as Idaho went into halftime with a 28-22 lead.
Sherwood ended the night with nine points, all from 3-point attempts.
The Vandals outrebounded Southern Utah 16-11 in the first twenty minutes of play. Senior forward Nahshon George collected four rebounds for Idaho during that span.
Idaho shot 52.2 percent (12-23) from the field while Southern Utah’s troublesome early half kept them at 45 percent (9-20).
The Vandals would open the second half with a strong offensive run to pull away from the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah faced a deficit of 20 points midway through the first half. The Thunderbirds were 1-7 from the field while Idaho was 8-13.
When the dust settled in Cedar City, Southern Utah’s deficit was too much to overcome. The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 2-8 in Big Sky and 4-16 overall.
The Vandals’ perimeter shooting was more efficient in the second half. Idaho shot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field while the Thunderbirds faltered at 27.3 percent (6-22).
The Vandals will face Northern Arizona Saturday at 1 p.m. in Flagstaff.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles