After being on the road for a majority of the holiday break, the Vandals celebrated the new year with a win.
Idaho (1-2 BSC; 5-9 Ovr) took down visiting Portland State (1-2 BSC; 7-8 Ovr) in Cowan Spectrum, 72-61.
The Vandals came into Thursday’s game after losing on the road to Idaho State and Weber State by a combined three points to open the conference season.
Redshirt junior guard Marquell Fraser applauded the team coming together and picking up a tough win.
“The last couple games were very close, went down to the last couple seconds so I think the last two, three minutes the game we actually came together as a team,” Fraser said. “We finally got it.”
The Vikings and Vandals didn’t exactly shoot the lights out from the three-point line.
Both shot just 20%, with neither making more than three in a half. So, a majority of the scoring had to come from down low.
Senior guard Trevon Allen led the way with 20 points and four rebounds, continuing to be the driving force. However, he has a supporting cast coming into their own.
Junior post Scott Blakney and sophomore Jack Wilson combined for 20 points and seven rebounds, giving Idaho a presence in the paint.
One of the trademarks for Portland State is its full-court pressure defense after made baskets or inbounds from the baseline.
Often, this leads to the Vikings getting many turnovers, but the Vandals had just 11, compared to the Vikings 21.
“It was a tremendous emphasis for us for the past two days in preparation for Portland State,” Idaho Interim Head Coach Zac Claus said. “As simple and elementary as it may sound, it was pass the ball to the open guy, be strong with it, advance it, get the ball in the frontcourt and let’s score.”
The Vandals, now 4-2 at home this season, will host Montana State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 9 in Cowan Spectrum.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at arg-sports@uidaho.edu or on Twitter @kellogg_zack.