Vandals fall again

RENO, Nev. – Luke Babbitt scored 19 points and Armon Johnson added 17 to lead Nevada to a 76-68 win over Idaho on Saturday night.

It was the fourth straight league loss for the Vandals.

Babbitt also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wolf Pack (11-7, 3-2 WAC), while Joey Shaw finished with 15 points and Brandon Fields scored 14.

Mac Hopson finished with 16 points to lead the Vandals (8-8, 1-4). Steffan Johnson had 13 points and Luiz Toledo added 12.

Nevada led 45-39 with 16:50 left before going on a 10-2 run over the next 4 minutes.

Ray Kraemer’s 3-pointer with about 12 minutes to go put the Wolf Pack up 55-41. Idaho could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

The Vandals led 21-11 midway through the first half before the Wolf Pack responded with a 25-9 run to close out the period leading 36-30.

Johnson had 10 points during the run and Babbit had eight.

Johnson’s jumper with 5:26 to play pulled the Vandals to within 62-53, but Shaw hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

Kyle Barone had nine rebounds for Idaho, which took a 36-29 rebounding advantage.

The Wolf Pack forced the Vandals into 16 turnovers, which resulted in 18 points.