For the first time since 2012, Idaho men’s basketball traveled to Cheney and took down the home team 58-51.
The Vandal squad started out slow but only continued to pick up speed as the night went on.
Eastern Washington got off to a hot start, getting a quick seven points on the board before Idaho even had a chance to get a single score just two minutes into the game.
The Eagles continued to control the score throughout the opening half, pushing away from the Vandals to grab a 14-point advantage halfway through the first half.
Idaho continued to chip away at the Eagle lead with a 13-0 run early in the half. Senior guard Victor Sanders hit a 3-ball with two minutes until the half to bring the Vandals within two, 25-23. Less than a minute later, Sanders laid it in and tied the game 25-25. A jump ball from the Eagle’s Benas Griciunas put Easten Washington back up by two to hold a 27-25 lead at the break.
Sanders led the way for the Vandals throughout the opening 20 minutes of play. The senior opened with nine points and six rebounds, the team leader in both categories.
Less than 30 seconds into the second half, Sanders dropped another layup to tie the game for the second time.
Senior small forward Jordan Scott stepped up several minutes later, blocking the Eagle’s Ty Gibson’s 3-point attempt and converting it into a layup of his own to give the Vandals their first lead of the night.
The two teams swapped leads several times shortly after, but Idaho reclaimed the advantage around the 13-minute mark with a lay in from sophomore guard Trevon Allen.
From there it was all Idaho. The Vandals built the lead out to as many as 11 points before closing out a 58-51 victory.
Three Vandals finished in double figures in the win. Sanders put up a team high 18 points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes of play. This was his 17th game in double-figures.
Allen closed out the contest with a season high 12 points and eight boards and senior forward Brayon Blake closed with 11 points.
Despite the win, it was not the Vandals sharpest shooting night. Idaho hit 40 percent from the floor but just 6-21 on 29 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Idaho bench contributed their share to the win with 21 points compared to just nine points from the opponent bench.
Eastern Washington was led by Bogdan Bliznyuk who ended the contest with 14 points and six boards. He was the only Eagle to score more than eight points.
Idaho will look to keep the fresh winning streak alive against Southern Utah Thursday in Cedar City, Utah.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]