While five losses sat in Idaho’s rearview, the Eagles of Eastern Washington perched ahead, ready to give the Vandals their sixth.
The Eagles came into the game as the top team in the conference while Idaho came in as the bottom. Despite their spots in the standings, the game was neck-and-neck for the first three minutes. However, a dunk from EWU sophomore forward Ethan Price put the Eagles up 6-5, and they held that lead to a 95-74 win.
Idaho’s dominant force, junior forward/center Isaac Jones, was uncharacteristically off in the first half. He put up four points, all from the free throw line. Idaho’s other main option, fifth-year guard Divant’e Moffitt, put up 18 points. He went 6/11 from the field, 2/2 from three and 4/4 from the free throw line.
“Every team we play is going to make (Jones) a focal point of what their defensive gameplan is going to be,” head coach Zac Claus said.
Eastern Washington was able to spread the wealth a lot more than Idaho. The Eagles had two players in double-digits with Price and senior forward Angelo Allegri each scoring 10 points. Their 20 combined points were almost half of EWU’s 41-32 halftime lead.
The largest discrepancy between the two teams was assists. Eastern had seven first half assists to Idaho’s one. Senior guard Rashad Smith had the Vandals’ lone assist, hitting sophomore guard Yusef Salih for a three.
Idaho came into the second half looking to make a comeback. Their hopes were instantly crushed as the Eagles went on a 9-0 run at the start of the half.
Moffitt hit two free throws and a layup to make it a 14-point game, but that’s as close as the Vandals would get.
Jones was able to get back into a rhythm in the second half as he scored 10 points. He went 3/5 from the field and 4/4 from the free throw line. Salih also added 10 points as he went 3/5 from the field, 2/3 from three and 2/2 from the foul stripe. Moffitt led in scoring again with 11 points, going 3/5 from the field and 4/4 from the line.
Redshirt junior guard Tyreese Davis led the Eagles in scoring with 10 points. Sophomore forward Cedric Coward, Senior guard Deon Stroud and Allegri were not far behind with eight points. Stroud also had the moment of the game when he slammed a dunk down over senior forward Michael Hanshaw.
With EWU having multiple posterizing dunks over Vandals in their 95-74 win, there aren’t any positives the Vandals can take away from this game.
“We’ve got to defend a whole lot better,” Claus said. “Case and point today. We just got to be tougher defensively.”
Idaho lost in almost every stat in this game. Eastern had 15 assists, 10 turnovers, 31 rebounds and went 16/18 from the free throw line. Idaho had 10 assists, 14 turnovers, 27 rebounds and went 28/31 from the free throw line.
Coming off their sixth straight loss, the Vandals will return home to take on Montana State. The Bobcats are on a four-game win streak with only one in-conference loss. Just like EWU, MSU has an elite front court that could cause problems for the Vandals.
“We’ll have to mix it up,” Claus said. “We’re going to have multiple guys that will have the job of guarding (senior forward Jubrile Belo). We may have to throw some different looks at him, he’s as good as there is in the league.”
Idaho and Montana State will face off in ICCU Arena tomorrow at 6 p.m.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jamesaldrich25