Vandals stumble in OT
MOSCOW – University of Idaho guard Tanoris Shepard had a career night Thursday – actually a career half – but he didn’t get to enjoy it.
Shepard scored 24 points in the second half, added four more in overtime, but it wasn’t enough as UC Irvine escaped with a 67-62 Big West Conference men’s basketball victory in front of a small, but vocal Memorial Gym crowd announced at 1,156.
“It’s a totally empty feeling,” Shepard said after his 28-point outburst. “I hate to come up short. I’m a winner; coach is a winner. It always hurts to lose. That’s never going to sit well with me.”
The sting of this setback was a little more intense. Idaho had a chance to all but clinch a spot in the Big West tournament. Instead, the Vandals dropped their fifth straight and slid to 8-19 overall, 6-10 in conference.
That mark leaves UI in seventh place heading into Saturday’s home finale against Long Beach State at 5 p.m. UC Irvine (13-11, 6-9), which had four players in double figures, vaulted past Idaho into a tie with UC Santa Barbara for fifth place. The top eight qualify for the tournament.
“I’m very concerned,” Shepard said. “We were just in the locker room discussing it. We’re still in decent shape. I’m not going to say OK shape, probably just good enough shape to get into the tournament.
“We’re playing bad. We’re in a slump. We have to get back to practice (today) and find a way to get through this slump.”
Vandals coach Leonard Perry thought busting the slump would require improved defense and rebounding. But Idaho still didn’t find paydirt, despite holding UC Irvine to 40 percent shooting. Rebounding was a draw (38-all).
“If you’d told me we were going to do that (limit UCI to 40 percent shooting) before the game, I’d have thought we had a heck of a chance to win,” Perry said.
Perry shook up his starting lineup, benching top two scorers Dandrick Jones and Anton Lyons.
UC Irvine 67, Idaho 62 (OT)
UC Irvine (13-11, 6-9)–Fitzgerald 2-13 3-4 7, Gloger 6-11 1-2 13, Campbell 4-5 2-2 11, Schraeder 3-12 3-4 10, Ethington 5-9 5-7 16, Fells 1-2 0-0 2, Armstrong 0-2 0-0 0, Sanders 0-2 0-0 0, Bruckner 3-4 2-3 8, Metelski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 16-22 67.
Idaho (8-19, 6-10)–Haynes 0-2 1-2 1, Shepard 10-15 4-5 28, Higdon 0-3 0-0 0, Davis 3-4 1-2 7, Kale 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 5-16 1-1 11, Bowden-Key 2-5 0-0 6, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Lyons 3-12 1-3 7, Anderson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-60 8-13 62.
Halftime–UC Irvine 22, Idaho 18. Regulation–UC Irvine 54, Idaho 54. 3-point goals–UC Irvine 3-12 (Campbell 1-1, Ethington 1-1, Schraeder 1-6, Armstrong 0-1, Fitzgerald 0-3), Idaho 6-18 (Shepard 4-8, Bowden-Key 2-5, Higdon 0-2, Jones 0-3). Fouled out–Campbell. Rebounds–UC Irvine 38 (Gloger, Schraeder 7), Idaho 38 (Lyons 11). Assists–UC Irvine 14 (Fitzgerald 5), Idaho 8 (Shepard 3). Total fouls–UC Irvine 18, Idaho 20. A–1,156.