Six straight wins, the last two without starting forward Luiz Toledo, and perhaps the best half of basketball in Don Verlin's tenure -- that's what the Idaho men have accomplished during a sizzling 18-day stretch. Tonight the Vandals took out Fresno State 67-57 at the Bulldogs' Save Mart Center, thanks to a splendid second half during which they shot 70 percent. "That might be our best half of basketball since I’ve been here at the University of Idaho,” Verlin said.

Read on for more.

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Before I post the full recap from UI, a few notes:

• The Vandals, at 12-6, 5-1 in the WAC, are now alone in second place in the conference. They host easily the biggest game of the season -- at least so far -- on Saturday when Boise State comes to Cowan Spectrum. The tip is 7 p.m. BSU is 4-2 in league, 11-7 overall.
• Idaho's Kyle Barone is really starting to flourish in the low block. He had 18 points and six rebounds tonight after 20 and 13 this past weekend. In the last two games, he's shot 14 of 16 from the field.
• No word on Toledo's injury, which was termed as "minor" after the Cal State Bakersfield win. To help in his absence, Joe Kammerer provided six points (on 3-of-3 shooting) and five rebounds.

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FRESNO, Calif. – A nearly perfect second-half performance turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 67-57 victory for the University of Idaho men’s basketball team in a Western Athletic Conference road game at Fresno State.

Idaho (12-6, 5-1 WAC) shot 69.6 percent from the floor in the second half, and held Fresno State (7-9, 3-3 WAC) to just seven second-half field goals and a 30.4 percentage. For the game, Idaho hit a season-high 61.4 percent from the floor and nailed 50 percent of their 3-point attempts.

“That might be our best half of basketball since I’ve been here at the University of Idaho,” Head coach Don Verlin said about the second period. “We got a number of layups and back cuts, and it’s a credit to our guys executing the game plan.”

The win gives Idaho its best conference start since 1993-94, when the Vandal men also started out 5-1 in the Big Sky Conference.

Sophomore center Kyle Barone led Idaho in scoring for the second game in a row, as he scored 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting, with six rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Shawn Henderson added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while senior guard Jeff Ledbetter put in 11 points and grabbed four rebounds, with three assists and two steals.

Fresno State sophomore Greg Smith was the only Bulldog player in double figures, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Garrett Johnson and Kevin Olekaibe added nine points each for Fresno State.

“He’s such a good player and such a load and you have to set your defense up to stop him, and obviously we did that tonight,” Verlin said of Fresno’s Smith. “Our post guys did a great job, and out guards did a good job of doubling in the post, then getting back out to shooters.”

Idaho outscored Fresno State 19-11 off turnovers and 16-5 on the fast break, while the Bulldogs took advantage of 14 offensive rebounds for 16 second-chance points. Idaho had just four offensive boards, which they turned into seven second-chance points.

It was a decisive 18-4 run that got Idaho going in the second half, during which time the Vandals shot eight-of-11 from the field and extended a three-point advantage into a 17-point lead at 63-46 with 3:38 left in the game.

“The stat I’m most happy with is that we only had three assists in the first half, and we came back and had 14 assists in the second half,” Verlin said.

Idaho’s lead never dipped below double figures in the closing minutes and the Vandals held on for their fifth-consecutive road win.

The first half had an odd vibe, as the Vandals shot 52.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range, but turned the ball over eight times and gave up six second-chance points to the Bulldogs.

Fresno State used a 10-2 run to break open a 5-5 game early on and establish an eight-point lead at 15-7. The Bulldogs maintained their lead between five and seven points until Idaho head coach Don Verlin drew a technical foul at 6:16 of the first half.

The Vandals ignited over the rest of the half and outscored Fresno State, 15-10 for the rest of the period, and Henderson capped off the period with a buzzer-beating half-court shot that swished through the net as time expired.

“Any time you can go on the road and get wins, it’s huge, especially here at Fresno where it’s tough to get wins,” Verlin said. “What you’ve got to do in this conference is get road wins and then hold your home court if you want to win a title.”

The next home test for Idaho? An in-state rivalry matchup against Boise State, which is 11-7 overall and 4-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. It will be a rivalry doubleheader for the Vandals, as the Idaho women start it off at 4 p.m., and the men will follow at 7 p.m.
 

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