Tag: Basketball, Idaho Vandals, Washington State Cougars, Battle of the Palouse,
The Idaho men’s basketball team fell short in the Battle of the Palouse against Washington State 61-58. The game had come down to the wire with the Vandals having one chance to tie the game and go to overtime, but they were unable to convert.
In the opening five minutes of the game, both teams went back-and-forth exchanging scores until the Vandals went on a 15-6 scoring run. The run was led by freshman guard Hunter-Jack Madden and junior guard DeAndre Robinson who both had seven points in the run. Idaho’s biggest lead of the game was 25-14 as they went into halftime up 29-23.
The Vandals continued to lead during the early moments of the second half, but the Cougars rallied back and tied the game at 36-36. The Cougs continued to put pressure on Idaho as they eventually grew their lead up to 10, leading 46-36. WSU had finished a 19-0 scoring run to after being down most of the half and put the pressure on the Vandals to fight back.
“Our inability to defend without fouling was crucial for us,” Zac Claus, UI men’s basketball head coach, said. “We couldn’t keep them off the foul line, and it’s just a matter of eliminating second chance points as well.”
With three minutes and 41 seconds left to play in the game, WSU held a 10 point lead 55-45, but the Vandals converted on several three-pointers to bring the game to a three-point deficit. Senior guard Damen Thacker hit a jumper to make it within one point, but WSU quickly fired back with a jumper from Isaac Bonton brought the lead to three once again.
“We liked the competitive fight to keep competing there,” Claus said. “The guys did a good job defensively, moving our feet a little bit better, doing a better job of contesting shots and then we were able to limit them to one shot during that run which was big.”
Senior forward Scott Blakney converts on a dunk attempt to bring the lead to one with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Idaho quickly fouled, and WSU’s Noah Williams converted both free throws to make it a three-point game. One last shot for the Vandals hit off the mark as WSU closed out the game with a victory and remains undefeated.
The Vandals dropped to 0-3 and are still searching for their first win of the season. Robinson led the Vandals with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, and Madden recorded 13 points which marked a career best for the freshman.
Idaho was outrebounded 39-31, but led in bench points 13-3 as all of the Vandals’ bench points came from Madden. The Vandals will travel to play CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, Dec. 12. Tip-off will start at 1 p.m. PT.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic.