Fresno State men end losing streak to Vandals

FRESNO, Calif. – Tyler Johnson equaled a career high with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Fresno State defeated Idaho 65-55 in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball game on Thursday night.

Jerry Brown added 14 points and 10 rebounds in helping Fresno State (10-14, 2-6 WAC) end an eight-game losing streak against Idaho.

Kyle Barone had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Vandals (11-11, 4-4), who shot 38.5 percent from the field. Deremy Geiger and Mansa Habeeb added 12 points each.

UI spent most of the second half whittling into Fresno’s 16-point halftime lead. They got to within 45-40 with 7:20 remaining when Geiger converted a three-point play.

But Idaho never got closer, even though Fresno struggled from the free-throw line once the Vandals started fouling on every possession.

“We were kind of back in control of that game (in the second half), but the hole was so big,” UI coach Don Verlin said.

Fresno St. 65, Idaho 55

 Idaho (11-11, 4-4) – Bandoumel 2-6 3-4 7, Madison 0-2 0-0 0, Barone 6-12 2-5 14, Tatum 2-6 0-0 4, Geiger 4-9 1-1 12, Habeeb 4-6 4-6 12, Hill 2-6 0-0 6, Borton 0-5 0-0 0, Kammerer 0-0 0-0 0, Faines 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 10-16 55.

Fresno St. (10-14, 2-6) – J. Brown 6-6 2-3 14, T. Johnson 6-11 4-9 17, Wills 0-4 4-6 4, Olekaibe 2-9 2-4 7, Shepp 1-3 3-5 5, G. Johnson 3-4 0-0 9, Foster 4-7 1-1 9. Totals 22-44 16-28 65.

Halftime – Fresno St. 36-20. 3-point goals – UI 5-20 (Geiger 3-8, Hill 2-5, Tatum 0-1, Madison 0-1, Habeeb 0-2, Borton 0-3), Fresno St. 5-17 (G. Johnson 3-4, T. Johnson 1-4, Olekaibe 1-7, Foster 0-1, Wills 0-1). Fouled out – Foster, Madison, Tatum. Rebounds – UI 33 (Bandoumel 11), Fresno St. 34 (J. Brown 10). Assists – UI 11 (Tatum 4), Fresno St. 14 (Shepp 5). Fouls – UI 26, Fresno St. 18. A – 6,080.