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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vandals give college try


Nevada guard Ramon Sessions attempts to shoot between Idaho's David Dubois, left, and Matt Forge in Monday's game at Moscow. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

MOSCOW, Idaho – If nothing else, the Idaho Vandals made Nevada squirm for a couple hours Monday afternoon at the Cowan Spectrum, and then for a couple more hours on the road to the Spokane Airport to catch a 6:30 p.m. flight.

In a game that seemingly had rout written all over it and followed that script for the first 16 minutes, Idaho overcame errant shooting to push the Wolf Pack to the buzzer before bowing 74-68 in front of 1,017.

Idaho (4-20, 1-11 WAC) dropped its fourth straight and has posted consecutive 20-loss seasons for the first time since 1976-78. The 25th-ranked Wolf Pack (21-5, 10-3) has won eight straight and remain atop the WAC.

The Vandals looked nothing like the team that was throttled at home by Utah State last Wednesday. They lost another game, but they showed they haven’t given up on their coach.

Idaho trailed 34-18 when it mounted an unlikely comeback. Per usual, senior guard Tanoris Shepard was in the middle of it, scoring all seven points in a 7-1 run that narrowed the gap to 35-25 at the half.

“The (Utah State) game we were more sluggish, got behind early and kind of hung our heads as opposed to keep on fighting and the things coach (Leonard Perry) has been preaching all year long,” said Shepard, who scored 18 points. “We got down and we kept fighting and believing in each other.”

The teams essentially traded baskets until WAC player of the year candidate Nick Fazekas connected from 10 feet for a 54-38 lead with 9:30 remaining. Idaho rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to pull within eight.

At that point, Idaho’s Brett Ledbetter was called for a technical foul for chirping at Fazekas near the foul line. Nevada hit both free throws, but could never put Idaho away.

Idaho was forced to foul in the final two minutes, extending the game into an uncomfortable time frame for the Wolf Pack travel party.

Keoni Watson and Matt Forge hit 3-pointers in the final minute to trim Nevada’s lead to 73-68 with 13 seconds remaining. Fazekas hit one of two free throws and the Vandals turned the ball over before attempting a shot.

“We’ve been through some tough times, but we’ve gotten better,” Perry said. “The problem is who we’re playing and in some cases where we’re playing them. We happened to be playing the best team in the league.”

The Vandals, who entertain Hawaii at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Memorial Gym, shot just 39.3 percent and were outrebounded by 17, but managed to stay reasonably close.

“They don’t really play a straight-up defense. They try to throw a lot of different ones at you and it’s hard to get into a rhythm,” said Fazekas, who finished with 26 points. “We just played sloppy in that last minute and turned it into a close game.”

Added Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox: “I thought everything was very flat, just kind of a grind-out, late-February-type game. I wasn’t real pleased with our play, but I have to give Idaho credit.”

Nevada 74, Idaho 68

Nevada (21-5)—Shiloh 3-6 1-2 8, Kemp 5-10 8-10 19, Sessions 3-8 4-6 10, Fazekas 9-16 8-9 26, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Burleson 0-0 0-0 0, Charlo 4-6 0-0 9, Ikovlev 0-0 0-0 0, Bell 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 24-47 23-29 74.

Idaho (4-20)—Watson 3-7 2-2 9, Shepard 5-14 8-13 18, Vrzina 3-6 0-0 6, Dubois 0-2 0-0 0, Kale 3-8 4-6 10, Forge 2-3 0-0 6, Jakovljevic 0-1 0-0 0, Ledbetter 5-10 2-2 16, Nwoke 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 22-56 17-25 68.

Halftime—Nevada 35-25. 3-Point Goals—Nevada 3-9 (Shiloh 1-2, Charlo 1-2, Kemp 1-4, Fazekas 0-1), Idaho 7-20 (Ledbetter 4-8, Forge 2-3, Watson 1-2, Dubois 0-1, Jakovljevic 0-1, Vrzina 0-2, Shepard 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Nevada 41 (Fazekas 15), Idaho 24 (Kale 5). Assists—Nevada 11 (Sessions 4), Idaho 9 (Shepard 6). Total Fouls—Nevada 22, Idaho 21. A—1,017.