March 5, 2010 in Sports

UI clinches spot in WAC tourney

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MOSCOW, Idaho – Large pockets of the student section were vacant. The band was mysteriously absent, and the rest of the crowd inside Cowan Spectrum generated little noise.

It was almost as if spring break had come two weeks early.

But Thursday night the Idaho men’s basketball team seemed intent on proving a point: It’s still capable of playing well, even if most fans lost interest long ago.

The Vandals blazed to a 22-point lead before a few final tense moments in an 86-76 victory over San Jose State in a Western Athletic Conference game viewed by 961 fans.

The win clinched a spot in the WAC tournament for Idaho (14-15, 5-10), which can still earn as high as the No. 6 seed depending on how Saturday unfolds when it hosts Hawaii at 5 p.m.

“There would have been a lot of pressure on Saturday’s game if we hadn’t won this game,” coach Don Verlin said. “It’s a huge win. I couldn’t be prouder of our seniors.”

Just about everything went right for the Vandals early on, including an improbable 60-foot bank shot by Kashif Watson at the first-half buzzer. Watson had attempted just a single 3 all year before his two-handed heave went off the glass and in.

Officials spent several minutes reviewing the shot on video before confirming that the ball left Watson’s hands in time.

“I’m up there with LeBron (James) tonight, I guess,” Watson said with a grin.

The senior guard’s shot garnered a spot on Thursday night’s SportsCenter and punctuated a dominant first half for the Vandals. They led by 17 at the break before building a 64-42 cushion with 12 minutes left.

But San Jose State wouldn’t fold. Adrian Oliver, the WAC’s leading scorer, exploded for 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, and the Spartans (14-15, 6-9) climbed to with seven points on two occasions inside the final 90 seconds.

Each time, the Vandals responded by canning two free throws.

“We felt pretty good about it (at the end),” Watson said. “We just had to make sure to take care of the ball and take care of their pressure. In the last five minutes we kind of got a little sloppy.”

With six seniors in their final homestand, Verlin started usual reserve Luciano de Souza, who contributed a quick boost with two offensive putbacks. The four other healthy seniors played solidly as well.

Watson stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Mac Hopson also scored 17 points and four assists.

Verlin was particularly pleased with senior center Marvin Jefferson, who took three early charge calls and notched 15 points.

“I thought he changed the whole flow of the game in the first half,” Verlin said.

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