Rejuvenated Vandals Get Even With Aggies

This is how much Idaho’s men’s basketball team has improved: The Vandals beat New Mexico State 70-68 on Saturday night at the Kibbie Dome after losing to the Aggies by 33 points a year ago.

New Mexico State’s roster has changed, but not considerably.

And, perhaps most indicative of the growing respect for Idaho’s program, Saturday’s win wasn’t an upset. Oddsmakers had the Vandals favored by one over the Aggies, the preseason picks to win the Big West Conference’s Eastern Division.

“That tells you how far Coach (Dave) Farrar has brought us along,” said senior guard Kris Baumann, who scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer that gave Idaho a 67-65 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

Louis Richardson answered with a long-distance 3, staking the Aggies to a 68-67 lead with 35 seconds left.

Idaho’s Cameron Banks hit the game-winner, but first it took some persistent rebounding. Banks missed from the baseline, Clifford Gray’s putback rolled off and Mao Tosi’s tip kept the rebound alive. Banks finally scored from close range with 5.8 ticks remaining. He was fouled, too, and hit the free throw to account for the final score.

New Mexico State point guard Donminic Ellison, a transfer from Washington State, took the inbounds pass and raced into the paint where he was fouled by Tosi with 1.4 seconds left.

Before toeing the line, Ellison, the Aggies’ top free thrower at 77 percent, told UI’s Avery Curry to prepare for overtime. But Ellison missed the first free throw. He misfired intentionally on the second, but failed to hit the rim, giving Idaho possession.

Idaho ran out the clock to hike its Big West record to 6-4. Idaho (12-8 overall) and Boise State share third place, two games ahead of New Mexico State (14-10, 4-6). The top four advance to the Big West Tournament, but Idaho faces four of its last six on the road.

“We played pretty well,” New Mexico State coach Lou Henson said. “We just couldn’t get a rebound at the end. (Idaho) is a very physical team. Even though we’re pretty tall, we’re not a physical team and their strength hurt us a lot on the boards.”

Idaho outboarded the Aggies 38-30 to offset New Mexico State’s shooting advantage (51 percent to 39). The Aggies made just 13 of 23 free throws.

The Vandals were in tenuous control most of the way, building an 8-point lead late in the first half.

New Mexico State, behind Ellison and Denmark Reid, found a scoring groove in the second half, and Ellison’s layup gave the Aggies a 48-46 lead with 11:20 remaining.

The Aggies were on top 60-54 before getting caught by Idaho’s finishing kick. Banks had 8 of his 13 points in the final 5:25 and Baumann chipped in 5.

“To a lot of people (Idaho’s 12-8 record) is a surprise,” Banks said. “But as we got to know each other more, we expected this.”

Curry was steady, with 20 points and seven rebounds. Troy Thompson provided some scoring off the bench for the second straight game, hitting for 10.

Reid topped the Aggies with 17. Richardson had 16 and Ellison 11.

Idaho 70, New Mexico St. 68

New Mexico St. (14-10) - Richardson 5-8 4-5 16, Gosa 4-5 0-2 8, Brodt 2-4 0-1 4, Reid 5-10 5-5 17, Ellison 4-11 2-5 11, Davis 3-4 1-3 7, Leban 0-3 0-0 0, Tonella 0-0 0-0 0, Noopila 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 25-49 13-23 68.

Idaho (12-8) - Gray 3-9 2-2 8, Banks 4-10 5-6 13, Tosi 1-4 1-1 3, Curry 8-17 2-4 20, Toal 2-3 0-0 5, Baumann 4-7 1-1 11, Thompson 2-7 6-7 10, Byrne 0-2 0-0 0, Hampton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 17-21 70.

Halftime-Idaho 30, New Mexico St. 26. 3-Point goals-New Mexico St. 5-13 (Richardson 2-3, Reid 2-5, Ellison 1-4, Leban 0-1), Idaho 5-12 (Curry 2-5, Baumann 2-5, Toal 1-2). Fouled out-New Mexico St., Gosa, Brodt; Idaho, Tosi. Rebounds-New Mexico St. 30 (Richardson 5), Idaho 38 (Gray 9). Assists-New Mexico St. 6 (Reid 3), Idaho 8 (Baumann 3). Total fouls-New Mexico St. 20, Idaho 22. A-3,785.

, DataTimes