Vandals rally past North Texas, 65-63

DENTON, Texas – A 6-0 run to close the game gave Idaho (3-1) the 65-63 win over North Texas (2-1) in the opening day of the Mean Green Showcase.

“We obviously feel very good about it,” said coach Don Verlin, whose team trailed by as many as nine points in the second half. “We made a lot of really big plays down the stretch. The thing I was most proud of was that we kept fighting. There was no waiver to the commitment to what we were doing and I was proud of them. I was just happy with the way the guys kept fighting and found a way to win against a good North Texas team.”

After an even first half, the Mean Green jumped out a quick start in the second to take the nine-point lead. Idaho chipped away at the deficit, but couldn’t get closer than five until the 5 minutes. Trailing 60-54 with under 4 minutes to play, Idaho made its final push, closing the game on an 11-3 run.

The Vandals had plenty of opportunities to ice the game at the free throw line, but struggled to finish off the Mean Green. Ty Egbert went to the line for six attempts in the final minute, but only hit one. Chris Sarbaugh came up big for the Vandals with the offensive rebound on the final miss, but also missed both of his free throw attempts. North Texas’ final attempt at the buzzer fell short.

Egbert scored a career-high 14 points on the night, going 4-of-6 from the floor. Victor Sanders and Perrion Callandret also finished in double-figures, with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Idaho was in foul trouble all night, as the Vandals committed 30 fouls on the night. Seven Vandals finished with at least three fouls.

The Vandals were outrebounded, 32-31. Idaho shot 42.2 percent (19-of-45) from the field and 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from beyond the arc.

Idaho takes on Troy Tuesday at 3 p.m. in its second game of the Mean Green Showcase.