Vandals Open It Up Just Enough Freelancing Offense, Two Key Rebounds Lead To Win Over Boise St.

The finish line couldn’t come fast enough for Idaho on Thursday night. Thankfully, the free-throw line was there for the Vandals. Idaho scored the winning point at the foul line - on a possession preserved by a pair of offensive rebounds - to hold off Big West Conference rival Boise State 73-71 before 4,183 basketball fans at the Kibbie Dome.

After leading by 13 with 7 minutes left, the Vandals found themselves tied at 71 with 1:30 remaining. The pivotal possession didn’t come off as scripted, but nothing did on this night. Devon Ford retrieved a Gordon Scott miss and Cliff Gray rebounded Justin Logan’s errant jumper. Ford drove the right side of the lane and was fouled by BSU’s Kejuan Woods with 21.5 seconds left. Ford hit one free throw to give Idaho a 72-71 lead. BSU’s Justin Lyons fumbled away the ball at the other end of the court. Gray scooped up the loose ball, was fouled and hit another free throw to account for the final margin.

“We got a little rattled at the end because we had a comfortable lead and we lost it,” Gray said.

Idaho connected on 24 of 37 free throws in a tightly whistled contest. There were 47 fouls, leading to 69 free throws.

There were one too many fouls, as far as BSU coach Rod Jensen was concerned. “I wish the players could decide how the game is won or lost,” said Jensen, when asked about the foul call on Woods.

Idaho improved to 9-10 overall, 3-4 in the Big West. BSU slipped deeper into the Eastern Division cellar at 7-11, 1-6.

After allowing four BSU layups in the first 4 minutes, Idaho’s defense buckled down and its offense had one of its smoother outings of the season.

Idaho coach Dave Farrar chose to bag his structured sets and let his players create on the floor. It led to an abundance of open shots for Gordon Scott, who hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points. Idaho shot 50 percent from the field.

“Boise isn’t going to let you run things you want to run, so we tried to not overcoach it,” Farrar said. “We tried to run no set plays - though we did some at the end - and rely on players’ intuition against overzealous pressure. It afforded us some pretty good opportunities.”

For most of the game, anyway. Idaho used a 9-0 run midway through the first half and built a 38-30 halftime edge.

Idaho’s margin grew to 14 in the second half after Scott hit a 3-pointer with 13:55 remaining. But the Broncos refused to wilt and Abe Jackson, held to two points in the first half, struck for 15 in the final 20 minutes.

BSU pulled even when Woods was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:33 left. He hit all three free throws. The comeback died as Idaho pulled in consecutive offensive rebounds after having only three offensive boards in the first 39 minutes.

The loss was familiar for BSU, which has dropped a handful of games by narrow margins.

“It does start wearing on you, to get close so many times,” said Jackson.

Idaho visits UC Santa Barbara on Saturday while BSU is on the road against Cal Poly.

Idaho 73, Boise State 71

Boise State (7-11, 1-6) - Armstrong 4-5 5-7 13, Jackson 6-17 4-4 17, Lyons 8-13 4-4 20, Skiffer 0-1 0-0 0, Hordemann 2-6 1-2 6, Williams 0-2 4-6 4, Woods 2-4 7-9 11, Gely 0-1 0-0 0, Hays 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 25-32 71.

Idaho (9-10, 3-4) - Bouncristiani 0-1 2-2 2, Gray 3-4 5-6 11, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Lewis 0-0 2-4 2, Gates 0-0 2-2 2, Ford 4-7 5-6 13, Scott 8-19 3-6 25, Dickens 4-5 5-8 13, Gershefske 0-3 0-2 0, Logan 2-3 0-1 5. Totals 21-42 24-37 73.Halftime - Idaho 38, Boise State 30. 3-point goals - Boise State 2-12 (Hordemann 1-2, Jackson 1-8, Williams 0-1, Woods 0-1), Idaho 7-16 (Scott 6-13, Logan 1-1, Gerschefske 0-1, Bouncristiani 0-1). Fouled out - Lyons. Rebounds - Boise State 29 (Jackson, Lyons 7), Idaho 29 (Gray 9). Assists - Boise State 7 (Williams 3), Idaho 18 (Ford 4). Total fouls - Boise State 26, Idaho 21. Technicals - Jackson. A - 4,183.