BSU continues to haunt UI
MOSCOW, Idaho – Boise State University’s ownership of Idaho these days appears to encompass more than just football. Consider basketball.
The hot-shooting Broncos caught fire early and never cooled off as they defeated the Vandals for a 13th consecutive time, 95-84 on Saturday afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference men’s game before 1,249 at the Cowan Spectrum.
It also was Idaho’s 13th straight conference loss dating back to last season. For BSU, the win was its sixth straight on the road this season and its 10th win in the last 11 games.
Idaho (3-10 overall, 0-2 WAC) practically matched BSU (11-3, 2-0) basket for basket in the first half. It’s a good thing the Vandals were hitting their shots or it would have been over well before intermission.
BSU made a torrid 21 of 33 from the field (63 percent) in the first half, and that pace continued in the final 20 minutes as the Broncos made 16 of 27 (59.3 percent).
Idaho had to make 17 of 29 shots (58.6 percent) from the field just to stay within shooting range of the Broncos. What kept the Vandals within eyesight of BSU in the first half was the 3-point shooting of junior guard Mike Hall, who made 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. Idaho made its first six 3-point attempts in the first half.
But as the Broncos remained hot, the Vandals cooled mightily. They made just 9 of 28 (32 percent) in the second half.
Most of those misses occurred after Idaho regained the lead a final time. Junior forward Jordan Brooks hit a 12-foot jumper to put the Vandals in front 58-56 at the 17:59 mark of the second half.
An 8-0 spurt by the Broncos was the final spark that fueled the ultimate separation between the teams.
Idaho coach George Pfeifer thought his team didn’t play a lick of defense.
“We didn’t get back (in transition),” Pfeifer said. “If you’re in a race and they say, ‘On your mark, get set, go’ and you hesitate a couple of seconds in a 15-yard sprint, I don’t think you’re fast enough to catch up. That happened to us a lot. When we score 84 points we think we should capture the game. But we just didn’t defend anybody all night long.”
The 54 points scored by the Broncos in the first half were 10 more than Idaho has allowed this season.
The Broncos were much more conscious of the Vandals’ shooters in the second half, especially Hall. He made one more 3-pointer, but Idaho made just 3 of 12 from long range in the second half.
“We just didn’t get it done – too many mistakes, not getting back,” said Hall, who finished with 20 points. “They had way too many easy buckets.”
For the Vandals, it was too much Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson. They each scored 25 points. The 6-foot-9 Nelson made 10 of 12 shots, most of which came as he either pinned his defender deep in the post or as he got out quickly in transition.
Larry made 5 of 6 3-point shots, 4 of 5 in the second half. He claimed he wasn’t looking to shoot the 3-pointers.
“I started feeling it a little bit,” Larry said. “It was pretty much wide open. Most of them we’re from trailing or just finding an open spot. But I wasn’t supposed to be out there.”