The Battle for the Palouse, the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi, occurred Wednesday night with two coaches meeting for the first time.
Washington State (4-4) proved too much for Idaho (3-6), coming away with the 77-65 win.
Things started off a bit unexpected, with the Vandals coming in with a sense of urgency.
Hands high and flying around on defense, with good ball movement and quality midrange shots to start off the first half.
The Cougars started off sluggish, with Idaho taking the lead at 8:01 in the first half.
Although it was just two points, it would be just one of two leads the Vandals had, which lasted for under one minute all night.
It was a sight for sore eyes and ears, with Cowan Spectrum having real noise in it for periods in the first half, giving the Vandals a home court feeling that has been absent in recent seasons.
An and-one play by junior guard Keyshaad Dixon sparked life going into halftime, with Idaho being down by just eight going into the break.
But the start of the second half would be the downfall for Idaho.
Washington State came out with a mission, outscoring Idaho 13-4, pushing its lead to 18.
The Vandals simply couldn’t find the bottom of the net, scoring just nine points through the first six minutes of the second half.
This would be the beginning of the end, as Idaho was not able to bring it back within double digits for the final 18 minutes.
There was a brief spark late, with Dixon and junior guards Damen Thacker and Chance Garvin putting on an 11-2 run, but it was too little too late.
Neither team was able to get the ball to go from beyond the arc with any real consistency, with Idaho shooting 26% and WSU with 24%.
Old-school fans of the sport would be thrilled: tough defense, midrange jumpers and second chance being a rarity.
Turnovers plagued both teams Wednesday night, Idaho having 18, slightly above WSU’s 16.
On the battle for the glass, Washington State had the edge all night long, using its superior height and length to end possessions and push the ball with speed.
The Vandals continued to struggle from the free-throw line, shooting below 60% for the third time this season.
Scott Blakney had a return to form tonight, leading Idaho with 13, shooting 62.5% and grabbing six boards.
Dixon finished with a double-double, having 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first as a Vandal.
Idaho continues the trend of starting off hot before going cold in the second half.
With 10 days to rest up, Idaho looks to get healthy and prepare as the non-conference season begins to wind down, and just two games until the start of the Big Sky season.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kellogg_zack.