Vandals win thriller at Bakersfield
Idaho's Jeff Ledbetter was already having a pretty good week, after nabbing three steals in a 30-second span against Nevada on Wednesday. But then came Saturday night and his buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime to lift the Idaho men to a 78-77 win at Cal State Bakersfield. “I live for those shots,” Ledbetter said. “I knew if I got the ball, it was going in. I knew the play was set up for a three, and if they covered Brandon Wiley, I’d be open.”
Read more below.
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With win at Bakersfield, the Vandals are now 11-6 and winners of five straight. They play at Fresno State on Monday and, at 4-1, are tied for second place with New Mexico State in the WAC (Boise State lost to Nevada on Saturday night). The Vandals host the Broncos Saturday night.
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Here's the full recap from last night from UI media relations:
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Idaho men’s basketball lost a 14-point second-half lead, they lost a 3-point lead on a buzzer-beating triple to end regulation, and it appeared, after going down six points with 1:19 left in overtime, that the Vandals had lost the game – enter Jeff Ledbetter.
The Idaho senior guard nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime with a defender in his face to give Idaho a 78-77 non-conference victory at Cal State Bakersfield in a wild game on Saturday night.
“I live for those shots,” Ledbetter said. “I knew if I got the ball, it was going in. I knew the play was set up for a three, and if they covered Brandon Wiley, I’d be open.”
Idaho (11-6) jumped all over Cal State Bakersfield (8-9) in the first half, and opened multiple 12-point leads, but saw their advantage disintegrate in a matter of minutes when CSUB opened the second half on an 11-2 run and steadily chipped away at the lead.
The host Roadrunners took a 59-58 lead with 1:21 left in regulation, then four straight free throws and a steal later, Idaho was ahead 62-59 with five seconds to go. On the ensuing inbound, CSUB’s Donovan Bragg found Stephon Carter for a corner 3-pointer that he banked in at the buzzer to send it into OT.
“They bank in a 3-pointer to get it into overtime, then we make the game-winner,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said after the game. “It was a well-played game on both ends tonight and we were really glad to come out of it with a win.”
Idaho finished with five double-digit scorers for the second time in three games, led by sophomore center Kyle Barone’s 20. Barone also finished with a game-high 13 rebounds for his first career double-double, and shot 8-of-10 from the field.
Ledbetter finished the game with 13 points, three assists and a career-high-tying three steals, while senior forward Brandon Wiley earned his second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Senior Shawn Henderson had 12 points and juniors Deremy Geiger and Landon Tatum had 10 and nine points, respectively.
The ‘Runners were led by three 20-point scorers in Carter (25), Alex Johnson (22) and Bragg (21). As a team, CSUB shot 41.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range, but was just 17-of-28 (.607) from the free throw line.
Idaho went just 2-of-10 from 3-point range in regulation, but nailed three out of four in overtime. The Vandals shot 50 percent overall, 35.7 percent from 3-point range and hit 81 percent (17-21) of their free throws.
The Vandals out-rebounded the Roadrunners, 39-35, and outscored them 34-24 in the paint. CSUB had turned 14 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points, while Idaho’s 10 offensive boards became nine second-chance points. CSUB also outscored Idaho, 24-15, off turnovers.
“It does feel great, and you’ve got to give CS a lot of credit,” Verlin said. “They played with unbelievable heart and desire and they took us out of our stuff late in the game.”
The victory extends Idaho’s active win streak to five, which is the team’s longest since 1998-99, when the team also won five in a row. The last time Idaho won more than five games in a row was 1992-93, when the Vandals rattled off seven straight under Larry Eustachy.
Junior forward Luiz Toledo, who had started every game of the season so far, missed the game with a minor injury. His status will be re-evaluated before Monday’s game at Fresno State.
Monday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. (PST) at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State is 7-8 overall and 3-2 in the Western Athletic Conference after falling to Utah State, 52-39, at home on Saturday.