Last-Ditch Free Throws Doom Idaho In Ot

Ben Larson sank two free throws with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to lift Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to an 86-84 men’s basketball victory over Idaho on Saturday.

Larson had been fouled by Idaho guard Shawn Dirden, who apparently thought the Vandals were trailing. The error wasted Reggie Rose’s 3-pointer, which had pulled Idaho into an 84-84 tie with 6 seconds left in overtime.

“We got up four in overtime and we had a couple of breakdowns,” UI coach Joe Cravens said. “Reggie makes a terrific shot and Shawn fouls the guy, thinking we’re down one. He’s (Dirden) a terrific kid, but he’s a senior and he needs to know what’s going on.”

Rose led Idaho with 20 points. Teammate Jason Jackman finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Shanta Cotright scored 22 points for Cal Poly (8-5), which won its fifth straight. A year ago, the Mustangs were 1-26 in their first season of Division I basketball.

“For about 10 minutes we played real hard,” said Cravens. “I’ll take some of the blame for the start. We looked like we weren’t interested in playing.”

The game was tied 75-75 at the end of regulation. Idaho (5-5) took an 81-77 lead with 2:59 left in the extra session. But Cal Poly regained the lead, 84-81, with 15 seconds to play.

Cal Poly led 45-36 at halftime and increased its lead to 12 points with 8:20 remaining. The Vandals used a 15-6 run to get as close as 74-73 with 9 seconds to go in regulation.

Larson was at the line and made 1 of 2 free throws before Eddie Turner tied it for Idaho with a 10-footer with 1 second left.

Cal Poly SLO 86, Idaho 84 (OT)

Idaho (5-5) - Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Harrison 4-8 2-3 10, Gardner 4-6 4-4 12, Rose 7-15 3-4 20, Dirden 1-3 2-2 4, Baumann 1-5 0-0 3, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, E.Turner 7-11 0-0 14, Jackman 5-10 9-10 19. Totals 30-59 20-23 84.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8-5) - Sanders 1-4 0-0 2, Levesque 6-11 5-11 17, Croy 1-1 0-0 3, Larson 3-9 3-4 12, Cotright 10-19 1-3 22, Fleming 2-4 1-1 5, Bryant 8-18 0-0 19, Q.Turner 1-2 0-0 2, Sternlight 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-72 10-19 86.

Halftime-Cal Poly SLO 45, Idaho 36. 3-Point goals-Idaho 4-13 (Rose 3-7, Baumann 1-5, Dirden 0-1), Cal Poly SLO 8-26 (Larson 3-9, Bryant 3-10, Croy 1-1, Cotright 1-3, Fleming 0-1, Sanders 0-2). Fouled out-Harrison, Gardner. Rebounds-Idaho 44 (Jackman 14), Cal Poly SLO 29 (Levesque 7). Assists-Idaho 12 (Rose 5), Cal Poly SLO 25 (Cotright, Bryant 6 each). Total fouls-Idaho 17, Cal Poly SLO 17. A-2,152.

, DataTimes