The University of Idaho defeated Cal Poly 85-70 on Saturday in the ICCU Arena to move to 4-4 on the year.
Idaho dominated the court, with Cal Poly’s only lead of the entire game coming within two minutes of tip off, where the score was 2-1. The Vandals were easily able to create a big lead, which got to 31-point lead in the second.
A big change in the game was the defense and its intensity on the court, forcing a team season high 15 turnovers, and capitalizing with 22 points off turnovers.
“You know, we take a lot of pride in being a physical defensive team,” Head Coach Alex Pribble said. “We do like to force the basketball to the baseline and be aggressive with those rotations and it’s an area where our guys’ are getting better.”
For the Idaho offense, a big contribution was getting to the charity stripe, shooting 24/33 on free throws in the game.
“Part of it is playing inside out,” Pribble said. “We have a lot of guys who can be physical at the rim, not back away from contact and engage contact.”
Senior guard D’Angelo Minnis had a good scoring night, posting 18 points on 6-11 shooting, and 3/3 on free throws. Minnis was one of four players to score double digits on the day.
Junior forward Juice Mims also played an impressive game, going a perfect 4-4 from the court, scoring 11 points, and leading the team with seven rebounds and two blocks. He helped the Vandals win the rebounding battle, 35-31.
Idaho kept their lead consistent, staying around the 10 to 15-point range for all of the first half, until it came out hot in the second. Idaho outscored Cal Poly 26-12 in the first 10 minutes of the half to reach a lead of 69-38 at one point in the game, their biggest of the night. They continued to keep the contest out of reach for the rest of the game, where the Vandals ended up on top 85-70 when the buzzer rang.
Idaho is looking to win again at home on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. when they face off against University of the Pacific before the Vandals go on a 3-game road stint.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]