Aussies’ Final Shot Sinks Vandals, 70-69, In Opener

Somewhere between encouraged and discouraged you’ll find Idaho men’s basketball coach Joe Cravens.

Cravens’ team tipped off the 1995-96 season with a hard-to-gauge 70-69 exhibition loss to the Townsville (Australia) Suns Monday night.

Cameron Dickinson’s 18-footer from the baseline with 4 seconds left erased UI’s one-point lead. He had made just 5 of 16 shots before that.

“I don’t know, I thought we played pretty hard and did some things pretty well,” Cravens said. “I looked at a lot of combinations and played a lot of people.

“I was caught between wanting to get everyone playing time because they’ve all worked hard in practice, and (playing) what I know will eventually be our top 8 or 9.”

Idaho had taken a 69-68 lead when Harry Harrison coaxed in one of two free throws with 27.9 seconds to play.

Then the 26-year-old Dickinson struck, giving the Aussies their fourth win in six games on their U.S. tour.

“He’s renowned for that,” said Townsville coach Mark Braggs, whose club was 9-17 in an Australian pro league that ended in October.”All of my shots felt pretty good,” Dickinson said.

Idaho showed flashes of potential, but for the most part, the game was somewhat disjointed. A nifty pass that led to a layup was quickly followed by a turnover.

Harrison, the Big Sky’s leading rebounder last year, has lost none of his tenacity. The 6-foot-7 senior grabbed his first rebound 40 seconds in and finished with nine and 17 points.

Newcomers Reggie Rose (13 points) and Eddie Turner (11) had impressive outings. Turner, from North Idaho College, hit 4 of 5 shots.

, DataTimes