Vandals finally win one on road
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The University of Idaho men’s basketball team won on the road for just the second time this season, the first against a Big West Conference team, in taking down Cal Poly 75-63 Saturday night.
The Vandals turned in a strong second half after trailing by five points following the first 20 minutes.
The Vandals remain alone in fifth in the Big West at 8-14 overall and 6-5 in conference. Cal Poly dropped to 4-16 and 2-10 – ninth in the Big West.
The Vandals hits 11 of 14 free throws in the final 2 minutes of the game to secure the victory, an admirable effort from a team ranked last in the conference from the line.
“We wanted to jump out on this team immediately,” said senior forward Anton Lyons of the Vandals’ aggressive start to the second half.
The Vandals got strong performances throughout the lineup in the second half.
Lyons, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, scored the first four points of the half before Armend Kahrimanovic gave UI the lead for good after converting a steal into a layup for a 32-31 advantage with 18:44 to play.
The surge continued with Lyons, Tanoris Shepard, Lionel Davis and Dillon Higdon all contributing to a 22-6 run to give the Vandals command of the game.
Cal Poly mounted a late run but the Mustangs drew no closer than 11.
“Our kids just stuck with it,” Idaho coach Leonard Perry said. “They didn’t panic.”
The Vandals kept their cool in the first half when they struggled. They trailed 19-8 at the midpoint of the half and, while they cut into Cal Poly’s lead, they couldn’t put together a consistent run before halftime.
Shepard added 21 points to Lyons’ team-leading effort. Davis collected 11 rebounds.
Idaho 75, Cal Poly 63
Idaho (8-14, 6-5) – Lyons 7-14 8-10 22, Kahrimanovic 1-2 0-0 2, Davis 2-4 2-3 6, Shepard 5-11 10-13 21, Higdon 3-5 0-2 8, D.Jones 3-15 1-4 7, T.Johnson 4-7 0-0 9, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Kale 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 25-59 21-33 75.
Cal Poly SLO (4-16, 2-10) – Enzweiler 1-11 0-0 3, Henry 4-5 2-3 10, P.Johnson 3-6 1-1 7, G.Jones 2-7 0-0 6, Finnegan 5-10 4-4 16, Whiten 2-7 2-2 7, Lisinac 2-2 3-4 7, Socci 0-0 0-0 0, McGinn 1-3 0-0 2, Sampson 0-3 0-0 0, Titchenal 0-3 3-4 3, Haskins 0-4 2-3 2. Totals 20-61 17-21 63.
Halftime—Cal Poly-SLO 31-26. 3-Point Goals—Idaho 4-12 (Higdon 2-4, T.Johnson 1-2, Shepard 1-5, D.Jones 0-1), Cal Poly-SLO 6-23 (Finnegan 2-3, G.Jones 2-3, Whiten 1-5, Enzweiler 1-9, Sampson 0-1, Titchenal 0-2). Fouled Out—Henry. Rebounds—Idaho 40 (Davis 11), Cal Poly-SLO 36 (Henry, P.Johnson, McGinn 5). Assists—Idaho 12 (D.Jones, Shepard 4), Cal Poly-SLO 9 (Enzweiler 4). Total Fouls—Idaho 18, Cal Poly-SLO 26. A—1,625.