With a heartbreaking 76-73 loss at the hands of California State Northridge University on the horizon, the Vandals finally had a chance to get in the win column as they hosted Evergreen State College. The Vandals rebounded in a big way and got a dominant 88-42 victory over the Geoducks.
The game began slowly for the Vandals as they only held a slim 7-5 lead eight minutes into the game, but a dunk by junior forward Julius Mims got them going.
After the dunk, the Vandals went on a 21-4 run, extending their lead to 28-12. The Vandals would keep their foot on the gas pedal and take a 40-17 lead into the halftime break. The Vandals had a solid half shooting after their rough start, finishing the half 16/35 from the field, 4/19 from three, and 4/6 from the free throw line.
The Vandals’ defense held the Geoducks to just over 20% shooting in the half. The Geoducks finished the half 7/32 from the field, 3/13 from three-point range, and 0/3 from the free throw line.
In the second half, the Vandals picked up just where they left off, stretching their lead to as much as 49 points and dominating the Geoducks, defeating them 88-42. The Vandals picked up their first win of the season and the first in the Alex Pribble era.
The Vandals once again had a solid shooting night, finishing the night shooting over 50%. The Vandals finished 33/63 from the field, 9/29 from beyond the arc, and 13/23 from the free throw line.
The Geoducks improved in the second half, but it was not enough to make the game competitive. They finished at an abysmal 14/61 from the field, 5/24 from beyond the arc, and 9/15 from the free throw line.
A lot of Vandals got on the scoreboard, and junior guard EJ Neal led the Vandals. Neal dropped 15 points on a perfect shooting night, and he finished 6/6 from the field, 2/2 from beyond the arc and 1/1 from the line.
Junior forward Kyson Rose added 13 points and five rebounds to help the Vandals blow past the Geoducks. The score was important for the Vandals, but the most impressive stat was the rebounding.
The Vandals outrebounded the Geoducks 60-27 and had 13 second-chance points to the Geoducks zero. Rose spoke about the rebounding performance for the Vandals.
“It was our number one goal tonight coming in. We haven’t proven that we can play, that we could rebound, and so that was a huge step forward for us tonight,” Rose said.
The Vandals dominant down-low play was due to many players, including redshirt junior Terren Frank who Rose heaped praise for.
“He’s the most skilled big I have ever played with. He’s a stud,” Rose said.
A perfect shooting performance does not come along often, and Neal did that for the Vandals.
“I just took what the defense gave me. I didn’t try and force anything. I just took what the game gave me,” Neal said.
With Neal and the rest of the Vandals efficient night, Coach Pribble was pleased with the effort the team gave.
“We got a group of guys that all work very hard and that take pride in what they are doing, so I was proud of some guys coming in late. We had a lot of guys come in and impact the game in a positive way,” Pribble said.
The Vandals aim to extend their win streak as they welcome to Moscow (2-0) Pacific Lutheran on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10