Vandals can’t find late magic

MOSCOW, Idaho – So many of Idaho’s men’s basketball games the last few seasons follow the same pattern: fiercely fought, low scoring, with outcomes hanging in the balance in the closing minutes.

At the outset of the current Big West Conference campaign, the Vandals were winning those types of games. Lately, they haven’t and they’re sliding down the conference standings as a result.

The latest setback came Saturday when Cal State Northridge overcame a nine-point halftime deficit, scored the last six points of the game and hung a deflating 59-54 loss on the Vandals in front of 1,873 at the Cowan Spectrum.

Idaho (8-16, 6-7 Big West) lost for the fifth time in six games. The Matadors (13-10, 10-4) moved back into second place, thanks to Pacific’s last-minute comeback against Utah State.

The Vandals missed an opportunity to gain a game on fourth-place Cal State Fullerton (13-8, 7-5) heading into Thursday’s matchup in Fullerton. The Titans lost to Long Beach State.

But the Vandals have more to worry about than the conference standings. The last few years UI has been a team that improved as the season went on and was a factor in the Big West Tournament. This year, Idaho seems to be going in reverse.

“I’m disappointed,” UI coach Leonard Perry said. “We didn’t get it done.”

For the second straight game, senior Dandrick Jones carried the offense but had little help from his teammates. Jones scored 21 points, but the rest of the Vandals made just 10 field goals.

“I have to find my rhythm again and try to get him some help,” guard Tanoris Shepard said. “He’s like the Lone Ranger out there trying to carry us to wins. He’s doing it while they’re keying on him. Anton (Lyons) and I need to step up and hit some shots.”

Idaho’s shots were falling in the first half. The Vandals took a 36-27 halftime lead with some long-range marksmanship (6 of 12 3-pointers), but Perry couldn’t have been happy with a sloppy final minute when the Vandals committed two ill-advised passes against CSN’s trap.

“Those plays really gave us a good lift,” Matadors coach Bobby Braswell said. “To only be down nine, I didn’t think we played well enough to be that close.”

The Vandals scored on four of five possessions to turn a 17-all tie into a 27-17 lead. Jones hit a pull-up jumper and a 6-footer and Armend Kahrimanovic and Shepard pocketed 3-pointers.

Jones soared for an alley-oop dunk, Shepard nailed a runner in the lane and Jerod Haynes buried Idaho’s sixth 3-pointer of the half to bump the lead to 34-22.

The Vandals didn’t get to the foul line until 8.3 seconds remained when Kahrimanovic hit a pair of free throws. Meanwhile, the Matadors were 10 of 17 at the stripe, which helped CS Northridge survive a quiet half by Ian Boylan, who didn’t make a field goal but had five free throws.

The free-throw disparity grew wider in the second half and Perry, exasperated most of the night with the officiating, was hit with a technical foul during a timeout with 10:17 remaining.

By the time Perry was hit with his technical, CS Northridge has erased Idaho’s lead. The Matadors’ 1-3-1 trap slowed Idaho’s offense throughout the second half. The Vandals made 4 of 22 shots (18.2 percent) in the final 20 minutes.

Still, Idaho regained the lead at 49-47 and 51-49 until White banked in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.

The Vandals battled back to lead 54-53 on Lyons’ free throw with 3:45 left, but they went empty on their last four possessions. Tihon Johnson was called for a charging foul that left Perry raising his arms in disbelief. At the other end, Boylan lost the ball for a split second, but recovered and drained a 16-footer for a 57-54 lead.

Lyons had an open look at a 3 from the corner but missed. He chased down the rebound, but then lost the ball out of bounds. White’s free throw with 27.8 seconds sealed Idaho’s second straight conference loss at home.

Cal State Northridge 59, Idaho 54

Cal State Northridge (13-10, 10-4)–Locke 1-2 0-0 2, Boylan 2-9 9-10 14, Chitwood 1-3 0-2 2, White 6-10 8-11 23, Waggener 2-3 1-4 5, Okwudibonye 0-0 0-2 0, Heard 3-4 1-3 7, Onyenegecha 1-3 0-1 2, Vance 0-0 0-2 0, Shewmake 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 17-36 21-37 59.

Idaho (8-16, 6-7)–Jones 8-20 3-4 21, Haynes 1-2 0-0 3, Shepard 3-6 2-2 10, Lyons 2-11 4-6 8, Davis 2-5 0-2 4, Higdon 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 3, Kahrimanovic 1-5 2-2 5, Kale 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 11-16 54.

Halftime–Idaho 36, Northridge 27. 3-point goals–Cal State Northridge 4-13 (White 3-6, Boylan 1-6, Locke 0-1), Idaho 7-17 (Shepard 2-4, Jones 2-7, Haynes 1-1, Johnson 1-1, Kahrimanovic 1-3, Lyons 0-1). Fouled out–Chitwood, Haynes, Davis. Rebounds–Cal State Northridge 29 (Onyenegecha 6), Idaho 36 (Davis 12). Assists–Cal State Northridge 11 (White 4), Idaho 11 (Haynes 7). Total fouls–Cal State Northridge 17, Idaho 25. Technicals–Idaho bench. A–1,873.