Idaho rallies past UC Davis
MOSCOW, Idaho – When football season ends, the Kibbie Dome football turf is rolled up and stored away. Then, a portion of the stadium is curtained off so a basketball court can be installed. It’s called the Cowan Spectrum, the home of Idaho basketball from December through the end of the season.
It made its season debut Saturday when Idaho hosted UC Davis, sporting some new features.
There was also the Big Sky logo painted on opposite sides of the court, replacing the WAC logos that used to be inside the 3-point arc. The Spectrum also welcomed brand-new bleachers, replacing the stands that had a section collapse in a game against Seattle U last season.
But the school forgot one, important thing when the Spectrum was assembled. And it could’ve cost Idaho the game if it weren’t for a dominant second-half performance in which the Vandals turned an eight-point halftime deficit into a 79-71 win.
With 10:17 remaining in the first half and Idaho leading 16-14, during a timeout the officials noticed the Spectrum didn’t have the charge circles painted under the baskets.
The call was an administrative technical foul on Idaho. Corey Hawkins sank both free throws for UC Davis to tie the game at 16-16. It spurred a 16-6 run and a 38-30 Aggie lead at halftime.
“I wasn’t aware (it wasn’t there),” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “Hey, it’s an eight-point win. It could’ve been 10.”
The call couldn’t be argued. It is in the NCAA rulebook that Idaho is required to have the charge circles painted under the baskets. But the Big Sky officials continued to enforce what was happening outside of play. They called double technical fouls twice and hit UC Davis coach Jim Les with a technical foul. What upset Verlin was two bench warnings toward the Vandals, once for not getting out of the huddle fast enough and another for an assistant standing up during play.
“Let’s concentrate on officiating the game, not on the other stuff,” Verlin said.
On the court, Idaho (4-3) was orchestrating a successful second-half comeback by turning smothering defense into buckets in transition. Idaho held UC Davis to nine made shots in the second half, two of them coming with under a minute left and the game already decided.
“One thing that gets me going is when coach shows us their (shooting) percentages,” senior guard Mike Scott said. “If their percentages are too high, if we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, that riles me up.”