Turner, Jackman Carry Idaho At Home Vandals Beat Cal State Fullerton For First Big West Win At Home

With a string of second-half collapses this season, Idaho’s men’s basketball team tried to avoid yet another horrifying sequel.

Give Eddie Turner and Jason Jackman two thumbs up. Turner’s career-high 21 points and Jackman’s game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds led Idaho to its first Big West win at home, a 73-65 victory over Cal State Fullerton before 2,933 Kibbie Dome fans Thursday night. <,,

“We felt like we did a decent job on (Jackman) in the first half,” Titans coach Bob Hawking said.

However, Cal State Fullerton’s attempt to play physical in the paint only fired up Jackman.

The Vandals (9-11, 2-5) led only 53-50 when Jackman went off for eight points in a 15-9 Idaho run, making it 68-59 with 1:20 remaining.

During the run, Titans forward Mark Richardson intentionally fouled Jackman, sending him to the ground and the free-throw line.

Jackman, though, said he wasn’t angry. ‘

‘It surprised me is what it did,” he said of being tossed to the ground.

“It was just hard fouls. They weren’t being malicious,” Idaho coach Kermit Davis said.

Davis benched Jackman for not being aggressive enough on the boards. After the breather, however, Jackman responded. “That’s what good players do,” Davis said.

Both coaches thought Jon Harris sparked Idaho the most. Last year’s Idaho high school player of the year drained two consecutive 3-pointers early in the second half - each his first in conference action and only his third of the year. The 6-foot-5 freshman finished with eight points.

The game also marked the return of the Vandals’ Derrick Elliott, whom Davis suspended for two weeks. Elliott finished with one point and two steals in 12 minutes of play.

Freshman Cal State Fullerton reserve guard Dane Plock kept Idaho’s zone defense in check, shooting 5 of 11 from 3-point range.

Junior guard Chris Dade led the Titans (10-7, 3-4) with 23 points.

Besides Turner’s 8-of-13 shooting from the field, he also had five assists and three steals.

The Titans were without their leading scorer John Williams (17.6 points per game) who broke his wrist against Utah State on Jan. 23.

“We feel like we’re a solid team (without Williams),” Hawking said. “We’re not a one-man show.”

Idaho faces former coach Joe Cravens, a UC Irvine assistant, Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho 73, Cal St. Fullerton 65

Cal St. Fullerton (10-7) - Dade, 8-16 5-6 23, Richardson 0-5 0-0 0, Wright, 4-5 0-0 8, Nayab 1-6 0-0 3, St. Clair 4-6 0-0 10, Plock 5-11 0-0 15, Tyson 1-2 1-4 3, Rassloff 0-1 0-0 0, Leighton 0-0 1-2 1, Whitehead 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 7-12 65.

Idaho (9-11) - Thompson 2-5 0-0 4, Byrne 3-5 3-4 9, Jackman 9-15 4-6 22, Baumann 2-9 2-2 8, Turner 8-13 5-7 21, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Elliott 0-2 1-2 1, Harris 3-3 0-0 8, Wendt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 15-21 73.

Halftime-Idaho 32, Cal St.-Fullerton 24. 3-Point goals-Cal St.Fullerton 10-25 (Dade 2-7, Nayab 1-3, St. Clair 2-4, Plock 5-10, Whitehead 0-1), Idaho 4-10 (Baumann 2-7, Elliott 0-1, Harris 2-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Cal St.-Fullerton 29 (Wright 7), Idaho 33 (Jackman 13). Assists-Cal St.-Fullerton 13 (Nayab 4), Idaho 13 (Turner 5). Total fouls-Cal St.-Fullerton 17, Idaho 15. A-NA.

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