Samford defeats Idaho in final game of Mean Green Challenge
DENTON, Texas – A slow start was too much to overcome, as Idaho’s men’s basketball team (4-2) fell to Samford (5-1), 75-58, in the final game of the Mean Green Challenge on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs took over midway through the first half and controlled the pace for the remainder of the game.
“I thought that Samford was able to attack the basket,” Idaho head coach Don Verlin said. “We had a tough time with their guards. I thought they did a great job of playing to their strengths, and I don’t think we played to ours. We threw it inside a lot, but didn’t finish around the rim. We have good players, but at some point you have to step up and make some plays. We had a lot of unforced turnovers, but that’s just from a lack of mental focus. These guys are disappointed, but we’ll treat it as a learning experience and get better.”
The Vandals took a 12-10 lead after a 3-pointer by Chad Sherwood early in the first half, but the Bulldogs took over from there, going on a 21-4 run. Samford kept the pressure on Idaho throughout, not allowing the Vandals to get the deficit into single digits.
The second half was much of the same for the Vandals, as any comeback attempt was thwarted by the Bulldogs. The teams traded buckets for much of the half, but Idaho could not cut the deficit to fewer than 13 points.
The bright spot on the day was Perrion Callandret, who tied his career high with 18 points. Callendret shot 7 of 11 from the floor and 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Arkadiy Mkrtychyan also finished in double figures, scoring a season-high 12. Skyler White led the Vandals with eight rebounds.
Idaho struggled shooting, as the team finished 18 of 49 from the field and 6 of 16 from beyond the arc. The free-throw line was not kind to the Vandals, as Idaho connected on 55.2 percent (16 of 29) of its free throws.
The Vandals won the battle of the boards 38-33 but committed 20 turnovers for the second straight game.
Idaho returns home to take on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. Saturday.