Only 642 See Idaho Win Nieman’s Big Second Half Helps Sink Cal Poly Slo

Alli Nieman’s 21 second-half points helped Idaho pull away from Cal Poly SLO 70-59 before 642 fans in Memorial Gym Sunday afternoon.

Nieman, who scored a game-high 27, made eight of the Vandals’ first 12 points in the second half, as Idaho went on a 12-4 run in the first five minutes and the score stood at 43-27.

Two Nieman free throws and two field goals - one a 3-pointer - extended Idaho’s lead to 54-36, its biggest of the afternoon, with 8:12 left in the game.

Cal Poly (3-17, 2-7 Big West), however, cut the Vandals’ lead to single digits after three quick 3-pointers, making the score 56-47 with 4:14 remaining. The Mustangs hit only 1-of-7 3-point shots in the first half, but drained 7-of-16 after the intermission.

Nieman, a freshman from Sandpoint, Idaho, hit 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, 6-of-9 from the field and had seven rebounds.

Idaho improves to 10-11 and 5-4 in the Big West as it vies for a conference tournament berth.

Idaho 70, Cal Poly SLO 59

Cal Poly SLO 3-17, 2-7) - Barnes 4-13 0-0 12, Sperry 2-3 0-0 4, Bauer 5-12 1-2 11, Maristela 3-8 0-0 7, Osorio 3-11 0-0 8, Carmola 1-2 0-0 2, Bevien 3-8 1-2 7, Oaks 0-1 0-0 0, Frazier 2-10 1-2 6, Andrade 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 23-68 5-8 59.

Idaho (10-11, 5-4) - Gussett 0-2 2-2 2, Nieman 6-9 14-16 27, Greenwood 3-5 2-3 8, Johnson 1-8 4-4 6, Skorpik 1-6 14-17 16, Ortner 0-2 0-0 0, McDaniel 1-4 0-0 3, Newman 1-6 1-5 3, Lemm 0-1 0-0 0, Blakley 1-2 0-0 2, Stone 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 15-47 38-49 70.

Halftime - Idaho 31, Cal Poly SLO 23. 3-point goals - Cal Poly SLO 8-23 (Barnes 4-6, Osorio 2-9, Maristela 1-2, Frazier 1-5, Oaks 0-1), Idaho 2-14 (Nieman 1-2, McDaniel 1-2, Ortner 0-1, Skorpik 0-3, Johnson 0-6). Fouled out - Maristela, Osorio. Rebounds - Cal Poly SLO 37 (Bevien 9), Idaho 51 (Newman 12). Assists - Cal Poly SLO 11 (Barnes, Maristela 3), Idaho 10 (Skorpik 3). Total fouls - Cal Poly SLO 32, Idaho 12. Technicals - Cal Poly SLO bench. A 642.