Vandals Lose Heartbreaker At Utah State

The University of Idaho lost its third successive Big West road basketball game, falling just short of an upset in losing 68-66 to Big West leader Utah State Saturday night at the Spectrum.

“You’ve got to feel for the kids, Vandals coach David Farrar said. “I wouldn’t use the word devastating but that would come pretty close.”

The Vandals (9-7 overall, 3-3 in Big West play) led the Aggies (15-4, 6-0) by as many as eight points in the second half, only to have Utah State chip away and finally secure the victory on two Pharoah Davis free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining.

“We came out and executed the game plan tonight,” said guard Avery Curry, who tied a career high and led all scorers with 28 points. “It’s hard to come up on the losing end.

“Everybody did what they could do. Unfortunately, we came up two points short.”

Even in losing, the Vandals had one of their better outings. They shot 52 percent (26 of 50) from the field, made 5 of 11 3-pointers and stayed within 31-28 of the league’s top rebounding team. Where the Aggies gained their largest advantage was at the free-throw line. They made 25 of 31. The Vandals hit 9 of 14.

Though the loss was the third straight on the road for the Vandals, the last two have been by only four and two points. Are they sending a message to the rest of the Big West?

“I don’t know what people’s expectations are,” Farrar said. “It’s a long season. We’ve played very well, very competitive for three straight road games and we don’t have any wins to show for it. I’m sure people have changed their expectations for us.”

The basis for the change in perception is the cohesive play of a team that started the year with three returning players and a band of newcomers.

Curry, who sat out last year as a transfer from Florida State, has been the rock. In addition to his 28 points, he had two steals and, as point guard, kept the Vandals to just 13 turnovers, despite a tenacious Utah State defense.

Curry had 16 of his points by halftime, and the Vandals led 39-34. As the second half got under way, an Aggie free throw closed the gap to four before Curry and Mao Tosi hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Vandals their largest lead of the night, 43-35, with 18:34 remaining.

Utah State chipped away but didn’t regain the lead it last held midway through the first half until Kevin Rice made a free throw with 3:19 to play. Marcus Saxon, who joined Rice in leading the Aggies with 19 points each, then hit three successive free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to give USU its largest lead of the game, four points, with 2:09 to play.

Curry trimmed the lead back to one, 64-63, with a layup and free throw at 1:59. The Aggies went back up by three on Donnie Johnson’s putback before a Curry free throw with 1:10 to go brought it back to 66-64.

Utah St. 68, Idaho 66

Idaho (9-7) - Banks 4-4 1-2 9, Tosi 2-2 2-3 6, Byrne 0-1 0-0 0, Bauman 3-7 0-0 8, Curry 10-21 5-7 28, Gray 5-7 0-0 10, Toal 0-1 0-0 0, Thompson 1-4 0-0 2, Hampton 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 26-50 9-14 66.

Utah St. (15-4) - Rice 4-9 11-15 19, Davis 3-7 4-4 10, Johnson 2-6 2-2 6, Saxon 5-15 7-8 19, Jones 4-8 0-0 9, Geddes 0-0 1-2 1, Allick 0-0 0-0 0, Isaacson 1-1 0-0 2, Birch 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-48 25-31 68.

Halftime-Idaho 39, USU 34. 3-Point goals-Idaho 5-11 (Curry 3-5, Bauman 2-6), USU 3-6 (Saxon 2-4, Jones 1-2). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-Idaho 28 (Tosi 7), USU 31 (Rice 11). Assists-Idaho 9 (Bauman 3), USU 9 (Saxon 4). Total fouls-Idaho 20, USU 15. Technicals-Idaho, Curry, Avery. A-9,011.

, DataTimes