Vandals win, reach .500
FRESNO, Calif. – Trevor Morris scored 14 points and Mac Hopson had 13, including the clinching free throws, as Idaho held off Fresno State 71-68 on Saturday night.
Marvin Jefferson added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Vandals, who evened their overall record at 14-14 and improved to 7-7 in the Western Athletic Conference basketball race.
Sylvester Seay scored 23 points for Fresno State (12-18, 3-11), including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Mychal Ladd gave the Bulldogs some life with 1:08 left by stealing the ball in the backcourt and converting a layup to trim Idaho’s lead to 69-65.
But following a Vandals turnover, Bryce Cartwright missed two free throws to keep Fresno State’s deficit at four.
Hopson sealed the victory by intercepting a Ladd pass at the 3-point arc, drawing the foul and making two free throws with 18.4 seconds left. The junior point guard also had 10 assists.
The Vandals shot 52.9 percent from the floor and outrebounded Fresno State 40-31 to overcome 15 turnovers.
Idaho grabbed its biggest lead of the game, 65-54, on Kashif Watson’s layup with 6:54 left, forcing a Bulldogs timeout.
The Vandals twice built nine-point margins midway through the second half, helped by two Luciano de Souza 3-pointers.
Idaho 71, Fresno St. 68
Idaho (14-14, 7-7)—Hopson 4-11 4-6 13, Simmons 3-4 0-1 6, Wiley 3-4 0-0 6, Watson 3-5 2-4 8, Jefferson 5-11 3-5 13, de Souza 4-10 0-2 11, Augusto 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 5-6 0-0 14. Totals 27-51 9-18 71.
Fresno St. (12-18, 3-11)—George 6-14 4-6 19, Cartwright 1-3 0-4 2, O’Neil 3-11 3-6 9, Golubovic 4-9 0-1 9, Seay 8-14 3-4 23, Ladd 2-7 0-0 5, Sperling 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 24-58 11-24 68.
Halftime—Idaho 40-37. 3-Point Goals—Idaho 8-19 (Morris 4-5, de Souza 3-9, Hopson 1-4, Simmons 0-1), Fresno St. 9-33 (Seay 4-7, George 3-10, Golubovic 1-5, Ladd 1-5, Cartwright 0-1, O’Neil 0-5). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Idaho 40 (Jefferson 11), Fresno St. 31 (Seay 8). Assists—Idaho 18 (Hopson 10), Fresno St. 16 (Cartwright 5). Total Fouls—Idaho 18, Fresno St. 17. A—10,434.