UI Muttering After Losing To Long Beach Curry Has Strong Words After Vandals Fall 75-68

They don’t shoot well and they talk too much. Perhaps the two are related.

The Idaho Vandals again bruised the rims, dropping their Big West Conference opener with another subpar shooting performance in a 75-68 men’s basketball loss to Long Beach State in front of 1,706 at the Kibbie Dome Saturday.

The Vandals were wrapping up postgame interviews when Avery Curry seemed to reach his fill of talking.

“We’ve got to get everybody on the same page. Even in warm-ups I think there were a couple people slacking a little bit,” Curry said. “We gotta stop talking so much among ourselves and do what we’ve got to do.

“Whether we win ugly or gracefully - and we’re not going to win gracefully - we got to get some wins under our belts and cut down on all the phrases and talking.”

The news isn’t much better off the court for the Vandals, now 4-6 and mired in a four-game losing streak. They will be without Falemao Tosi for a minimum of two weeks. Tosi, who plays defensive tackle on the football team, suffered a torn knee ligament in the first half of the Humanitarian Bowl last Wednesday. The injury won’t require surgery, but even the tough-minded Tosi will need healing time.

The rims also will need mending time if Idaho maintains its current shooting pace. Idaho was 21 of 59 (36 percent) against the 49ers, who made 54 percent of their shots.

Idaho has shot below 40 percent the last five games and under 42 percent in the last six. Three of UI’s better shooters - Curry, Gordon Scott and Cameron Banks were a combined 3 of 20 on 3-pointers against Long Beach.

“There were several areas where we were either flat or not very effective,” head coach Dave Farrar said. “But had we shot better we wouldn’t be discussing them. If we make three wide-open shots, we’re probably right where we need to be.”

Long Beach’s Ramel `Rock’ Lloyd - the nickname came from his mother in honor of him weighing 10 pounds at birth - scored 32 points. The stocky, 6-foot-4 transfer from Syracuse was too physical for slim Josh Toal and also displayed a nice perimeter touch.

Lloyd was recruited at Syracuse by Wayne Morgan, the Long Beach coach who was an assistant at the Big East school.

Idaho scored the last 10 points of a sloppy first half to lead 36-35.

The 49ers (4-6) went on 21-2 run to open the second half as Lloyd struck for 10 points.

The Vandals scrapped within five as Devon Ford, a backup wing, drove the lane with 8:40 remaining. Idaho inched closer at 71-68 when Ford grabbed a loose ball underneath and scored.

But Curry missed a 3-pointer and the rebound went out of bounds As two Vandals battled for possession. On Idaho’s next possession, Curry’s layup circled the rim and came off.

Center Mate Milisa, who hit two key field goals in the final eight minutes, made two foul shots with 25 seconds left to seal Long Beach’s win.

“Mainly it’s just the quality of shots we’re taking,” said Banks, who was 4 of 13, which was actually better than two other starters. “We get stagnant and we’re trying to force things instead of setting picks and getting easy shots for each other.”

Ford was about the only reliable offensive weapon. He hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 19 points. Curry had 16 points, but made only 5 of 21 from the field.

“We put in a hard week (of practice), but as much as I would prefer that to be a confidence builder, it’s still going to have to happen in a game for this bunch,” said Farrar, whose club goes on the road to face UC Santa Barbara Thursday and Cal Poly Saturday.

Long Beach St. 75, Idaho 68

Long Beach State (4-6) - Lee 1-1 0-0 3, Bryant 3-6 0-1 6, Milisa 5-11 3-4 13, O’Neal 6-8 2-2 14, Lloyd 10-18 10-11 32, Delone 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Stone 1-1 0-0 2, Smalls 1-2 1-1 3, Milley 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 28-52 16-21 75.

Idaho (4-6) - Scott 1-8 3-4 6, Banks 4-13 1-1 10, Byrne 3-5 2-3 8, Curry 5-21 5-9 16, Toal 1-3 1-3 4, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Ford 6-7 6-8 19, Dickens 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 21-59 21-32 68.

Halftime - Idaho 36, Long Beach State 35. 3-Point goals - Long Beach State 3-7 (Lee 1-1, Bryant 0-1, Lloyd 2-4, Johnson 0-1), Idaho 5-22 (Scott 1-6, Banks 1-3, Curry 1-11, Toal 1-1, Ford 1-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Long Beach State 35 (Bryant 7), Idaho 36 (Byrne 7). Assists - Long Beach State 9 (O’Neal 3), Idaho 12 (Curry 6). Total fouls - Long Beach State 24, Idaho 21. A - 1,706.

This sidebar appeared with the story: 49ers 75 Vandals 68 Thursday: Idaho at UCSB