Vandals survive against North Dakota
MOSCOW — Don Verlin isn’t sure what the most fortunate thing to happen to his team on Saturday was.
Was it North Dakota missing a point-blank look at the rim as time expired after gobbling up a rebound with five seconds left and going the length of the floor? Or, was it the feeling of seeing Perrion Callandret see the floor for the first time in over a month?
Either way, both factored heavily into Idaho escaping the Cowan Spectrum with yet another one-possession win in Big Sky Conference play, topping North Dakota 65-64 in front of an announced attendance of 1,537.
“We got a late Christmas present today, or at least I did,” Verlin said. “It was a game-time decision on Callandret, it was great to have him in the lineup and we were very fortunate to win that basketball game the way we turned it over.”
Perrion Callandret warmed up prior to Thursday night’s win over Northern Colorado just to see how his sprained right foot responded for a Monday meeting with Idaho’s team doctor, Steven E. Pennington.
But after looking spry and agile during Friday night’s practice, Verlin called Dr. Pennington again. The eighth-year coach wanted to see if Callandret could make his return one game early.
Pennington made his observation.
“I don’t see why he can’t play,” Verlin recalls him saying.
The junior point guard scored nine points and fouled out after logging 24 minutes. One of those fouls was a technical foul for throwing the ball after the play was dead. It’s modest production from what Idaho usually expects out of him, though his teammates saw it in other ways.
Callandret allowed Chris Sarbaugh to play off the ball, creating shot opportunities for him and allowing the senior guard to dish out seven assists and crash the boards for a team-high nine rebounds.
“You can see it in the statistics but it goes way beyond that,” Sarbaugh said. “ … He played beyond my expectations tonight with scoring, but then just his defensive presence. He’s such an athlete, and he knows the scheme so well in our defense. It’s immeasurable, really. It’s unreal to have him back.”
Although, it turns out Idaho’s luck wasn’t running too wild. Junior forward Ty Egbert, who’d started Idaho’s last eight games, sported a boot on his left foot after suffering a low ankle sprain in practice on Friday night.
Idaho (16-10, 8-5 conference) still outrebounded UND by 17, grabbing 11 offensive rebounds without Egbert. Senior Nahshon George nabbed seven rebounds and tied for a team-high 11 points as the latest “next-man-up” Vandal.
“This the year the motto seems to be ‘next man up,’” George said. “ … This year we have so many injuries and that gives opportunities for guys to step up and make plays. We can never dwell too long on an injury because we’re confident the guy behind is ready to go.”