Basketball is not a contact sport, but it can appear as one in some games — by no means is it made for the soft.
Idaho played with the toughness physicality needed to pick up a 69-61 victory over Idaho State Thursday night.
It was a night full of loose ball scrambles, nasty tumbles, aggressive blocks and fouls. The game itself looked like a test for Idaho before the Big Sky tournament. Idaho State played like a team with nothing to lose and gave Idaho a scare.
For starters, the Vandals let the Bengals go on a run early in the game and the Vandals could not seem to find their rhythm inside. If Idaho wants to have any chance of making a run in the conference tournament, it needs to continue to play tough inside.
The best posts in the Big Sky, such as Jacob Wiley from Eastern Washington and Carson Shanks from North Dakota, always play physical and both showed considerable performances against the Vandals this season. With undersized big men, the Vandals must play as tough as Thursday night but with more consistency and without all of the turnovers, fouls and rejected shots.
Idaho’s starting posts, sophomore Nate Sherwood and junior Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, combined for only 18 points on 39 percent shooting and nine rebounds. The two will need to take some pressure off of star junior guard Victor Sanders, who will be receiving some extra attention by teams in the conference tournament.
If Sanders can continue to score 30 points like he did Thursday, the big men won’t need to worry much about scoring. But, a higher field-goal percentage would greatly assist the team.
Idaho State did not play nicely, and the Vandals came roaring right back with a little of their own hostility. Despite the Vandals’ 17-point lead midway through the second half, Idaho State continued to play tough, and nearly gave Idaho fans a shock.
The game hit its peak of intensity with a scare late in the second-half, when Sanders hit the floor hard and awkwardly. He would continue to play, but did do so gingerly, favoring his left leg. Sanders finished the game, but the foul was a perfect demonstration of the contest. Idaho State guard Geno Luzcando picked up a flagrant foul on the play, but the Vandals were unable to capitalize on free-throws down the stretch, shooting just 62 percent.
This game should be treated as a lesson to Idaho and its fans. The Vandals were able to put together a win against a weak Idaho Stateteam, but can they pull through against teams at the top of the Big Sky, like Eastern Washington, North Dakota and Weber State?
These teams can be expected to play as rough as Idaho State did on Thursday during the Big Sky tournament in Reno, but with a much larger range of talent than the Bengals, Idaho will be forced to play much better to have a shot at the NCAA tournament.
The Vandals took control for a large portion of the second half, as they hit five outside shots and ended the contest with eight more rebounds than Idaho State. It began to change with about three minutes remaining, when the Bengals began a serious full-court press attack that staggered Idaho.
Idaho State would come back within five points before finally getting edged out by free-throws.
Sure, some questionable officiating led to the bleeding-through of some fiery tempers, on the court and in the crowd, but the Vandals cannot allow missed calls, missed free-throws and missed open-looks to be the defining factors of a loss in the Big Sky tournament. This win came primarily from Sanders’ shooting and ISU’s struggle to hit anything.
More physical games are to come before this season concludes. Post-play and overall efficiency must be present for the Vandals in the last few regular-season games and postseason if they do not want to walk away from a respectable season empty handed.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected]