Vandals hang on to defeat N. Texas

PORTLAND – Stephen Madison scored 25 points to lead Idaho past North Texas 87-76 on Friday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament at Portland. Madison, who went over 1,000 career points in a Vandals loss on Thursday, hit 10 of 21 from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Idaho (3-2) broke the game open when Glen Dean dropped three straight 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes after halftime as the Vandals built a 24-point lead. Dean finished 4 of 7, hitting all 3s, for 16 points. Connor Hill added 12. The Mean Green (2-3) went on a 12-0 run that cut Idaho’s lead in half, but Dean and Hill both made 3-pointers to get the lead back up to 18. North Texas cut the deficit to seven points in the final minute. Idaho, whose last field goal came with 3:21 left, finished the game by making 9 of 10 free throws. The Vandals had an all-round solid game shooting. They hit 50 percent of their shots from the field, including 44.4 from 3-point range, and 11 of 12 free throws. “For a large part of this game we played very well,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “We had a spirited effort tonight.”