Geiger’s career night leads Vandals

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Deremy Geiger had career highs with 27 points and seven 3-pointers, leading Idaho to a 74-60 win over Oregon State Friday night. Stephen Madison added nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Idaho (5-4). Joe Burton had 15 points and eight rebounds for Oregon State (6-2), playing two days after the death of Beavers football player Fred Thompson after a pick-up basketball game on campus. Idaho shot 24 of 48 from the field, including 10 of 18 from 3-point range. Oregon State was 20 of 60 overall, 3 of 23 on 3s. Geiger was 8 for 10 shooting overall and missed only two 3-pointers “I think it was great screens by the teammates and just finding guys with open passes,” said Geiger, a senior guard who had four of his 3-pointers in the first half. “They found us and got us open.” The Vandals led 35-24 at halftime and a Djim Bandoumel basket gave Idaho a 44-28 lead with 17:06 remaining. Oregon State then went on an 8-2 run — capped by a Roberto Nelson 3-pointer — to close within 10 points. Idaho then scored seven straight points, with Connor Hill’s 3-pointer making it 53-36 with 10:55 left. The Vandals later led by as many as 18 points, and Oregon State got no closer than 11 after that. “I think it’s a marquee win for our program,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “I thought we executed our offense very well. I thought we did a great job making the extra pass and recognizing who was hot. That was about as well as we possibly could shoot it tonight.” Idaho started fast, with six early points from Tatum helping the Vandals to a 12-4 lead. Geiger later hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it 18-8. Oregon State closed within five before Geiger hit two more from long range to make it 24-13 Vandals. The Beavers got as close as six but Idaho ended the half on a 7-2 run to lead 35-24 at halftime. Idaho had a 23-13 rebounding edge at the break and was 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, while Oregon State missed all 11 of their long-range shots. Overall, The Vandals shot 12 of 22 from the field in the first half while the Beavers were 8 of 28, including a combined 1 of 11 from guards Jared Cunningham and Ahmad Starks. Cunningham, Oregon State’s leading scorer at nearly 20 points per game, scored all seven of his points from the free-throw line but missed all nine of his field-goal attempts. He was a close friend of Thompson, a 19-year-old defensive tackle who died Wednesday. “I think losing him just put us in a sulking stage,” Burton said. “We just weren’t focused today.”