Vandals fall short
MOSCOW – Idaho fell behind early, and spent the rest of Saturday night playing a desperate game of catch-up.
And, if it’s any solace to the Vandals, a last-second layup by O.J. Avworo made the game as close as it had been since the early moments of the first half.
But a nine-point, 75-66 basketball loss at the hands of Utah State is still a loss, and the Vandals (3-21, 1-11 WAC) never gave themselves much of a chance for the upset win.
Utah State (18-7, 7-4) led 32-12 at one point in the first half, getting contributions from both its top players and from those who usually see few opportunities. By halftime, the score was 43-23.
“We didn’t play hard,” Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. “I have no explanation for why that is. … Obviously, in the second half we played with more fire and more spirit.”
One game after he scored 44 points against New Mexico State, Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll scored 28 against the Vandals. But he wasn’t the only one filling it up. Fourth-year junior Arvydas Vaitiekus, who has scored just 12 points all season in 57 minutes of play, scored 12 off the bench in this game alone, 10 of them coming in the first half.
As a team, the Aggies shot better than 70 percent from the floor in the first half, hitting buckets from all over the court with ease. All that despite the fact that their second-leading scorer, Chaz Spicer, was unable to play because of an illness.
Keoni Watson, playing in his second game after a one-game academic-related benching, scored 24 points to lead the Vandals. But he too struggled in the first half, and spent some of the second half on the bench because of foul trouble.
“I was mad,” Watson said. “I’m out there trying to play hard and the refs keep calling fouls on me.”
Watson also said he had no issues with Pfeifer despite the benching – a game that Idaho lost by two points in overtime to Fresno State.
“I respect that he’s a coach and he respects that I’m a player,” Watson said.
When Watson wasn’t scoring or wasn’t in the game, the Vandals did get a lift from Miles Webb. The junior scored 18 points off the bench, a career-high. Idaho made nine 3-pointers in the second half, content to hoist up one deep shot after another in an attempt to close the gap.
“I knew I was going to get to play today,” said Webb, who has played sparingly in a number of games. “We were happy for a second. Everyone was pumped and into it, but we couldn’t pull out a win.”
Utah St. 75, Idaho 66
Utah State (18-7, 7-4)—Clark 3-5 3-4 9, Carroll 11-19 4-5 28, Session 4-5 0-0 8, Peterson 2-7 4-4 8, DuCharme 2-2 1-2 5, Hammer 1-1 0-0 2, Vaitiekus 6-6 0-0 12, Harrison 1-1 1-2 3, Earl 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-47 13-17 75.
Idaho (3-21, 1-11)—C.Johnson 4-6 0-0 9, Watson 8-14 3-3 24, Avworo 1-3 0-0 2, Nagle 1-6 1-2 3, Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Preston 0-1 0-0 0, Webb 6-11 1-2 18, Morris 1-5 0-0 3, Madsen 1-1 0-0 2, Nwoke 1-8 1-2 3. Totals 24-58 6-9 66.
Halftime—Utah State 43, Idaho 23. 3-point goals—Utah State 2-11 (Carroll 2-8, Peterson 0-3), Idaho 12-30 (Webb 5-9, Watson 5-9, C.Johnson 1-3, Morris 1-4, Avworo 0-1, Preston 0-1, Nagle 0-3). Fouled out—Watson. Rebounds—Utah State 35 (Carroll, Session 8), Idaho 19 (C.Johnson 6). Assists—Utah State 14 (Clark, Peterson 4), Idaho 16 (Avworo 8). Total fouls—Utah State 15, Idaho 15. A—1,795.