Vandals pounded inside
STOCKTON – Don Verlin went straight to the point while summing up Monday’s game.
Verlin’s Idaho men’s basketball team ended its season at the Spanos Center in a 69-59 loss to Pacific in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsiders.com tournament in front of 2,146 fans.
The Vandals didn’t have an answer for Pacific starting center Sam Willard and forward Anthony Brown, who each led the Tigers (21-12) with 13 points and six rebounds.
“Willard and Brown just lined up and whipped our tail tonight,” Verlin said. “Brown is a tough senior post and Willard (sophomore) is going to be a good player down the road.”
Idaho entered the game with a minus -3.4 rebounding margin and were out rebounded 38-30. Pacific scored 36 points in the paint, including 17 on second-chance opportunities.
“That has been our Achilles heel all season,” Verlin said. “When we get outrebounded, we usually don’t get the result we want.”
The Vandals struggled to open the game, but recovered to trail 31-29 at the half. Idaho turned the ball over on its first two possessions. Kashif Watson missed a layup on the following possession and the Vandals then missed three putbacks in a row.
The Vandals made just one of their first 10 shots from the field before guard Mac Hopson got them back in the game with seven straight points. He led the Vandals with 16 points and had six rebounds and three assists.
“Hopson is hard to stay in front of,” said Pacific coach Bob Thomason. “His hesitation moves can really get you in foul trouble.”
Idaho’s last lead of the game was at 23-22 after a free throw by Watson. He also kept the Tigers from pulling away earlier with a 3-pointer from the corner.
Willard, however, capped the first half with six of his teams’ final 11 points as part of an 11-4 run.
Pacific opened the second half on a 6-2 run, scoring its first four baskets in the paint.
Verlin called timeout with 16:14 left in the game, but his team would get down by as many as 13 points down the stretch.
“That first four minutes of the second half, they got after it,” Hopson said of the Tigers. “They out-toughed us in the middle.”
Starting center Marvin Jefferson had 12 points and eight rebounds for Idaho, but the rest of the interior struggled. Forward Brandon Wiley had just four points and four rebounds, while Luciano de Souza had three points and no rebounds.
The Vandals’ perimeter trapping and pressure stopped Pacific shooting guard Chad Troyer, who entered averaging 11.1 points per game. Troyer was 2 of 9 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range. Tigers’ point guard Mike Kirby did not score and was 0 of 6 from the floor.
“I thought we did a very good job of stopping Troyer,” Verlin said. “But credit Pacific. They were still able to make plays when they had to.”
Idaho (17-16) finishes with its first winning season since 1998-99. The Vandals also compiled their most wins in a season since 1993-94, when they went 18-14.