Idaho whacked in opener

MOSCOW, Idaho – After Idaho was whistled for an unforced over-and-back violation early in the second half, frustrated head coach Leonard Perry could only bury his head in his hands on the bench.

If Thursday were any indication, Idaho’s first men’s basketball season in the Western Athletic Conference could be a long one. The Vandals were futile on offense for most of the game and a flurry of late production only served to prevent a lopsided defeat.

Not that that made Idaho’s 62-52 loss to New Mexico State in front of 1,032 at the Cowan Spectrum any easier to digest. The Vandals (3-8, 0-1 WAC) have already dropped four home games, the latest coming against an opponent picked to finish near the bottom of the WAC.

In other words, it probably isn’t going to get any easier.

“Our deal is we’ve gotta score,” Perry said. “We can’t score 52 points, which was really a little bit less than that. We have to score the basketball. We feel like as a staff we’re putting our kids in position to score.”

The Vandals were particularly ineffective in the first half, committing 11 turnovers and shooting just 28.6 percent. New Mexico State’s shooting wasn’t much better at 37.9 percent, but it hardly mattered because the Aggies (5-7, 1-0) rounded up 12 offensive rebounds.

The glaring difference in athleticism was evident throughout. Idaho had a 4-on-2 break early on, but Keoni Watson’s shot was swatted by 6-foot-9 Tyrone Nelson. Later in the half, Nelson was fouled while scoring on the break, but he missed the free throw. David Fisher went around a Vandal for the rebound, missed from close range, then hit the putback as NMSU went on a 12-2 run to take a 28-16 edge at halftime.

The Vandals struggled against NMSU’s trapping defense. When Idaho had open shots, it still couldn’t convert. Idaho made consecutive baskets only once in the first half. Desmond Nwoke, Mike Kale and Igor Vrzina, Idaho’s three primary post players, combined for just four points in 49 minutes of playing time.

“I knew it was a pretty talented league with some great athletes in it,” senior guard Tanoris Shepard said of Idaho’s first taste of the WAC. “It’s about what I expected. We have to take care of the ball better because you have great athletes in the passing lanes. We definitely have to block out a lot better because there are guys that can spring up over you.”

Shepard was essentially Idaho’s only threat offensively. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The rest of the Vandals made 9 of 34 attempts.

“Brett (Ledbetter) was 0 for 4, all good looks; Matt Forge goes 0 for 4,” Perry said. “Our two best shooters are 0 for 8 with clean looks. Keoni was 1 for 6. We turned the ball over quite a bit. I thought their trap bothered us in the first half when it shouldn’t have.”

Idaho trailed 52-32 before rattling off 20 points in the final 5:42.

“They’re a difficult team to play against in a sense because they try to take the air out of the ball,” Aggies first-year coach Reggie Theus said. “When that happens, you end up having to create your own energy. Fortunately for us, I thought our pressure defense was very strong and it really made them stagnant even more.”

The slender Nelson had 17 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

St. John’s transfer Elijah Ingram added 11 points and Ted Knauber chipped in 10.

Idaho entertains Louisiana Tech, which won at Boise State on Thursday, at 2 p.m. Saturday.